The Dream we share
by SOLDIER-MS
Summary: AU: Just as the X-men receive new students tragedy strikes. The unwilling murderer does what he can for redemption. But his "creation" may just be the beginning of events that unite the unlikeliest of allies and the reformation of a dream two men share!
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the X-men or any MArvel characters apart from Noah, Vergil and Karl

Hi everyone, for those whom have regularly read the fic, this story is no longer connected to True Heroism. But I'm not taking it down, I'm going to finish it and possibly make a sequal. For those whom are new, this story takes place in an alternate reality with a new history of the X-men, new twists on characters and an event that will change the X-men, possibly for good. This is just the beginning of something bigger, so read and enjoy :)

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The Dream we share

Chapter 1: The Mutants

Throughout the hundreds of years that humanity had existed, conflict had always been waged between minorities. Humans had abused, enslaved or even murdered their own kind all because of differences. Whether it had been religion, appearance, language or culture, conflict always existed and always will exist. Humanity has also been known to label, Germans once believed themselves to be the Master race, Africans had at times been called Negro's, dogs or just plane slaves. With the discovery of a new "race" came a new label. "Mutant", "gene-freak", "threat" as the government once called them. Though the government tolerated them, the people still feared them, and that fear evolved into hate.

"PLEASE I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING WRONG!" He screamed frantically.

Men chased him, intent on causing him harm. All because he looked ugly to them. He ran frantically through the alleys, a foolish choice. After running for what seemed like hours he groaned as he saw the dead end. Not even his survival instinct remained as the man; rags covering his bestial features fell on the discarded garbage. He put his hands to his eyes as the four torches shined in his face. The poor man was too disorientated to even describe the men, though he could tell that at least one of them was black. It seemed that not even people that experienced racism themselves could sympathise with mutants.

"Please, I don't have any powers I just look different" The man pleaded.

"Your still a mutant, and your kind aren't welcome in these streets" A tall man, apparently their leader said as he gripped his iron pipe tightly.

Another one of the men reached into his coat pocket, removing a pistol from it. He clicked the safety off and lowered the barrel towards the mans head.

"Hey I thought we agreed we'd just send a message" A shorter man said.

The gunmen thought for a moment before he holstered his gun. For a moment, the mutant sighed in relief before the man in front of him pulled out a knife.

"No please I beg of you, JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!" He screamed, trembling back in fear.

The thug didn't say anything as he lowered his neck. Suddenly the man with the pipe smacked the cutter over the head, knocking him out cold.

"What the fuck are you doing?" The gunman asked.

"I don't know, the pipe just moved on its own"

The mutant's ears twitched as he heard the metal creaking around him. Each of the thugs stood alert. Suddenly, the pipe flew out of the thug's hand, flying into his face. The thug stumbled across the ground and the others looked in shock at the floating iron pipe. It span around, hitting the two other thugs across the head. The gunman aimed his gun, but much to his shock it began breaking apart, its pieces scattering across the floor.

"Oh shit, it can't be him!" The floored racist said as he crawled across the ground.

The mutant turned around and gasped in shock as the fence was ripped out of the ground. It flew into two of the thugs, wrapping around them tightly. Then the pipe began to bend curling around the fence like a snake. The trapped thugs yelled at their leader as he ran past them, panic spreading across his face. Metal creaked around him as he ran through the streets. He tripped over a crack in the pavement, toppling into a puddle. The man pushed his hands into the ground and widened his eyes as he saw the reflection of the water.

"Nothing but school yard bullies, that's what you people are" A voice said from above the racist.

The voice was sharp or fierce, but it carried an air of authority yet it was so calm. After all the bearer of this voice was a calm man. His face was covered by the shadow of his red and purple helmet. He wore a red bodysuit with purple metallic boots and gloves, and around his neck and shoulders was a thick purple ring, adorned with metal rivets. What completed his look and made him look even more intimidating was his long purple cloak.

"And normally schoolyard bullies are kept in isolation, and since the police wont do anything, then I suppose its up to me" The man in the helmet said as he moved his hand, and a metallic marble floated towards the mutant hater.

"No…" But before the man could beg, the ball took shape into a metal cylinder.

The pole opened up, trapping the man as it slammed into the ground.

"You might want to save your breath young man, you might be in there for a long time" The man said as he floated away from the mutant haters metal prison.

There were those who prosecuted and attacked mutants, and there were those who defended them. Magneto was a man who had lost his family because of hate. Xavier was a man who knew of the hate that every person felt. One had experienced it, the other had felt it. Professor Charles Francis Xavier had a dream, a dream that humans and mutants could live together in peace. Eric Magnus Lensherr also had a dream, of a country where mutants ruled as free people. Both men wished to protect mutants and teach them. Xavier had his students and Magnus had his children and countrymen. Magneto had formed the country of Genosha and gained fame as a charismatic leader. With the riches he had earned from his family Xavier had formed a school many years ago and collected his first group of students.

Xavier's school for gifted youngsters was located in the town of Bayville. Over the three years that it had been formed students had come and gone and the famed X-men had been through countless adventures.

He ran as fast as his small feet could carry him. Though he appeared to be a child he was actually much older than he appeared. He was easily identified as a mutant from his pointy ears and wide eyes. The man wore a green sweater and a pair of jeans that were the same colour. Rain batted against his baldhead as he ran through the streets, running fast towards the shelter. He slammed his hands against the door, screaming frantically.

"PLEASE SOMEONE LET ME IN!" Tears ran down his eyes as he yelled out for anyone to help him. "Please, he killed my friends and he'll kill me too! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!" He yelled at the people who looked through the curtains of their windows.

The man ran away from the shelter and back into the alleys. Standing on the rooftops looking down at him, was the figure that he feared so greatly. He at least appeared to be male, his body covered with multiple purple and black plates, black plates covered his shoulders and shins while purple plates covered his arms, legs and chest. Running down the back of his spine was grey armour with at least four horn like shapes attached to it, while his head was covered by a black and grey helmet, the features on its faceplate were shaped like a menacing face, with glowing red eyes.

"Target Peepers found, Mutant Peter Quinn!" His voice was emotionless as flaps lifted up on his shoulders and boots.

A blue light glowed inside his body as he hovered towards the alleyway that "Peepers" had run into. Peepers stared at the wall; he'd reached a dead end, one that would cost him greatly. He looked at the armoured man as he floated towards him.

"Please show mercy, I beg of you please! I DON'T WANT TO DIE PLEASE!" Peepers yelled.

His attacker opened the palm of his hand, revealing a glowing blue hole. Before Peter Quinn could utter another word, a thick beam of light flew from the stalkers hand and ripped straight through the mutant's chest. Blood dripped onto the floor and smoke rose out of Peepers chest as he fell to the floor, landing in a puddle of his own blood.

"Target eliminated, returning to home base!"

* * *

At one time the government had created a series of gigantic mutant hunting robots called Sentinels. However after the Sentinels turned on their creator and were destroyed by the X-men, the project sentinel was shut down and the X-men and S.H.I.E.L.D. were put in charge of containing mutants.

The day after the murder, the mutant team known as the X-men conducted business as usual. A man with green skin and ragged clothing hopped across the streets of Bayville. He looked up and sighed as he shook his head, before hopping through a shop building. His pursuer had a head that resembled an eagle, his arms and upper body were covered in feathers, forming a pair of magnificent wings, he wore a black vest as well as trouser with yellow knee guards, that had red X's attached to them, his resemblance to an eagle was strengthened by his talons and double jointed knees.

"He's going round the back of a store" The young man said.

Further away from the place of incident, a pale woman sat in a metallic hall, surrounded by screen like holograms. The woman had black hair and strange black markings underneath her eyes, her tight black leather outfit covered everything but her left shoulder and arm, and she also wore a pair of red shades.

"There's an entranceway into the alleyway across the street from Wolfsbane and Colossus current position, you two hurry up and get over there!" The Woman known as Sage said serious as always.

"Ye don't have to get so angry about it" A young Scottish girl said, however unlike most girls she had claws, red fur and other wolf like features, her body partly covered by a beige swimsuit with a red X on her left breast.

Beside Wolfsbane was Colossus, the giant of the current team. He wore a pair of red trousers with black boots and a red and yellow shirt with black gloves covering his hands. His mutant ability was already active, towering over Wolfsbane with his imposing organic steel form. He and Wolfsbane ran across the street and through the alleyway. Toad looked to his side and screamed as soon as Wolfsbane pounced at him. He thrust his feet into the Scottish girl, sending her crashing into a wall. Colossus raised his fist, crashing it down just inches from Toad's head. The young man quickly jumped off of Colossus's shoulders, jumping up each wall of the alley until he reached the roof of the building. Another scream came out of Toad's mouth as he saw two other X-men waiting for him. One was the mutant known as Cannonball, a young man with short blonde hair, wearing a black suit with yellow boots and gloves, the suit had a yellow X across the chest, as well as a belt with a red X as the buckle, his look was completed with a pair of goggles. Beside him was Dazzler a stunning young woman with short pink hair, wearing a tight short sleeved blue top that had a star symbol on her chest, along with her shirt she wore a small black leather jacket, boots and a pair of brown trousers and a belt with an X as a buckle.

"Oh bloody hell!" Toad growled.

Dazzler held her hand out and fired a beam of light into Toad's chest, sending him flying off the roof. Toad flipped in midair, landing smoothly on his feet, well apart from the small crack he left in the pavement. He looked to the left, then to the right and sighed in relief. Suddenly a green beam flew into his chest, throwing him into the wall. Another stunning woman floated towards Toad's fallen form. She had green hair with matching eyes and coated lips; the metallic gloves and thigh-high boots she wore were also a green colour. The young woman also wore a green cloak; attached by the green studs on the purple one-piece bikini she wore, which also included four green triangles facing one another to form an X shape on her left breast.

"Polaris here, Todd's down" She said.

"Very well, leave him to the local police now!" Sage commanded before she cut the line.

Polaris sighed as the X-man Beak flew down to her level.

"I don't get how Todd always gets in trouble like this Barnell, I mean with what he's doing now he's not exactly a good thief" Polaris said, shaking her head as the police cuffed Toad and took him to their car.

"Don't worry about it Lorna" Beak said, if he had actually been taller than Lorna, he probably would have patted her on the back. But ever since his appearance altered when he was thirteen he had to settle for a nod.

The other X-men walked towards Polaris, Colossus's steel skin was slowly replaced by flesh while Wolfsbane changed into a red haired girl with tanned skin. Lorna smiled as Colossus approached, blushing at the looks the girl gave him.

"Our first mission without the original X-men…and we get the smelliest of their villains, if you could call that loser a villain" Dazzler complained, running a hand through her hair as a black van parked near the young mutants.

"Good job you six, now lets hurry back to the mansion so that the others can review your mission" The Driver and the X-men's resident tech expert said.

His name was Forge, a mutant genius wearing a black shirt and trousers, with a belt that had a red X buckle. He was at least in his fifties, but despite his greying hair he still had a well-built and fit frame. One interesting feature was his metallic thigh, in actuality his leg was robotic, replacing the leg he had lost a few years ago. But that is another story. The X-men all got into the van, with Piotr the biggest of the group sitting in the front.

Charles Xavier was one of the greatest minds on the planet, if not the galaxy. His intelligence and charisma had earned him the respect and friendship of countless scientists throughout the years. He was an expert on genetics and had a keen interest on the theory of evolution. With the riches he had earned from his family Xavier had formed a school many years ago and collected his first group of students.

* * *

The first and the closest of Xavier's students had been a young man called Scott Summers, smart and serious Scott made up for his commanding nature with his steadfast loyalty to Xavier, and his friends, though he was the closest thing that Xavier had to a son, Scott wasn't the perfect student or leader for his mutation had the most destructive potential out of all the first generation students. Jean Grey was beautiful, clever and passionate about Xavier's dreams as well as her own, a telepath and a telekinetic, Jean was more than just a pretty red head. Then came the youngest, Robert "Bobby" Drake, an average Boston boy with powers that made him just a bit too cocky for his own good. Fourth was Warren Worthington the third, serious like Scott, but he had a playful side that balanced his seriousness out, he was also an eye catcher for countless women, especially with the kind of mutation he had. Then there was Henry McCoy, the brains, muscle and heart of the team; though out of all the students he had the right to be haunted over his mutation he never let it bring him down.

Over the course of the three years since Xavier formed his school, the team known as the X-men had evolved from outcasts to a grudgingly respected mutant group and the heroes of countless children and mutants across the world. Members had been gained and lost just as students had entered and left the mansion in Bayville. The X-men's mission was to protect their fellow mutants from any threat be it human, alien or mutant itself, they assisted S.H.I.E.L.D. in containing and catching dangerous mutants and encouraged positive mutant and human relations. They followed Xavier's dream of a world united.

The Xavier institute was certainly a sight to behold, especially for new students. Most of the students were unique; though some of them had faces that you might see everyday it was their powers that defined them. Some of the new students had features that distinguished them from everyone else, such as extra limbs; one child even had a neck longer than everyone else.

'He can obviously see the board' one boy thought, keeping his distance from everyone, even with the thick coat and black gloves that he wore.

He covered his pale skin and brown hair with his hood, rigorously stepping out of people's way as he walked with the students towards the main entrance. The young man had a very dangerous power that much was evident. However despite how he kept away from everyone, he still made time to admire the scenery of the school. It was strange for him, everyone was so happy. Every student had a smile or a friendly expression on his or her face as they talked, they didn't need to worry about anything, and some mutants were playing games like touch football even with the hideous control devices some of them wore, like one Japanese girl wearing a pair of giant gauntlets.

The Hope that seemed to emanate from this place almost brought a rare smile to Kevin Ford's face. His eyes drifted towards a blonde haired girl, sitting on the grass, listening to her much more confident brown haired friend talk. The girl's eyes also drifted towards Kevin, smiling at him. Kevin had to blush at the girl's attention; she was certainly attractive, almost beautiful.

"If you could turn your faces towards me lads and lasses, then I'll be happy to give you the grand tour!" A man with a sharp Irish accent called out.

Sean Cassidy ran a hand through his ginger hair as the new students continued to talk amongst themselves. He smirked as he gathered air into his lungs. The older students covered their ears, for the new students were about to learn why Sean was called the Banshee.

"SILENCE!" He yelled so load that the ground shook, and the new students covered their ears.

An orange haired student looked at the Irishman in astonishment, the other student beside him crossing his arms in aggravation. This young man had black hair with blonde streaks, his silver eyes at time giving off a faint glow. The student with the orange hair then turned his attention to Banshee as he began to explain the plan for the day.

"All right, today lessons have been cancelled since this is a wide induction day, you'll be split into groups with a senior student showing each one of you around the grounds, you'll then have a chance to eat at the cafeteria where you can also meet the man himself Charles Xavier, who you will refer to as Professor" Sean said sternly, and no one spoke a word, not wanting their ears to suffer any more damage. "Now some of you will require some sort of control device to contain your abilities, which is why the tour will start in the subbasement"

Some of the new students changed their interested expressions to pure eagerness upon the mention of the X-men's famous subbasement. The students made their way down to the subbasement, followed closely by some of the more senior students that would show them around. As the students travelled down two different elevators, their tour guides Banshee and Sage explained what the subbasement was.

"The subbasement is off limits to junior students unless they have excelled in their studies or are escorted by a senior student or staff member. The Subbasement itself is where all the X-men's vital facilities are located, the medical bay, where students with healing abilities will commonly study on a one to one basis with our resident healer Warren Worthington the third, or as all of you fan boys know him as "the Avenging Angel"" Sean explained.

"Other facilities in the subbasement include the X-men's war and rec rooms, the uniform storage room, where all the training uniforms are stored, Forge's work shop, which remains locked whenever Forge isn't here" Sage began, ignoring the murmurs amongst the new students. "Also amongst the facilities is Cerebro, a device Xavier uses to amplify his telepathy to track mutants, however for those of you students with telepathy Xavier is the only one who can access Cerebro, exceptions include myself and Jean Grey, a low level telepathy but well trained in her powers none the less, even Omega level telepaths aren't allowed to access cerebro unless they are well trained and have Xavier's express permission, this regulation has been put in place to ensure your safety"

"Another dangerous place is the danger room…some of you might snicker but "the room" lives up to its name, it is a training room with a generator that emits realistic holograms of sceneries and opponents, other features are revolving floor, buzz saws, shape shifting robots and of course my personal favourite for a certain cocky telekinetic…sonic emitters, they aren't as powerful as my scream, but then again you haven't heard me when I really use it" Sean finished as the doors opened.

Some of the student gasped as they looked at the silver halls of the X-men's subbasement. Banshee and Sage guided the children through the corridors, until they reached Forge's workshop. Sage pressed her hand against a palm reader and the door to the workshop opened, and promptly closed after Sage walked through. A few seconds passed and Sage walked out of the room, carrying a pair of gauntlets with black gloves and circle shaped lights on the metal wrist and elbow parts.

"Noah Kevinson!" Sage said, her eyes aimed in the orange haired students direction.

He nervously walked through the crowd, visibly embarrassed that he required an aid in controlling his powers. Noah grabbed the gauntlets and put them on, he widened his eyes, as the gauntlets were surprisingly light. Sage paid the boys wonder no attention and just walked on, leading the new students to the danger room. Upon entering the makeshift hall, a look of wonder crossed each students face. The danger room, instead of resembling the metal grey dome they had thought it was now looked like the hall of a regular school, courtesy of its VR equipment. But what, or rather who really caught their attention was the wheelchair bound man sitting in front of them.

Charles Xavier would surely stick out in a crowd, he wore a green business suit with a black tie, and a blue quilt covered his legs. No one could really make any bald jokes; his expression was just too kind and warming for them to insult him. He flashed a greeting smile and addressed the students.

"Welcome to my home everyone…I realise that some of you lost home when your powers manifested, and I know that this place may never replace what you lost but I would like to think, and I hope that in time you can call this place home…and call each other family…now Sean and Sage have already explained to you what I have planned for the day, so all there is left to do is to split you all into your tour groups and welcome you to the School for gifted youngsters"

Next Chapter 2: The School

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Hope Everyone likes the beginning, please send some reviews because it can help with my writing. The Omega Sentinel Karl will play a much bigger part in this fic, in fact he's mostly the main character. THe Origin of this version of the X-men will be told in my fic Before Aeon and somewhere down the line I'll cross this fic over with Echo of Destiny. The fic will be different from X-men Academy X but will feature some of the things from that such as the Friends and Church of Humanity, the recruiting of a new team of X-men. This point of the fic is taking place during the beginning of the Marvel Universe series Becoming a Hero


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

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The Dream we share

Chapter 2: The School

The countless new students had all been divided into groups, with another student as a guide. Noah found himself grouped with five others including their senior student guide. She was a stunning African girl with long white hair, despite her good looks she wore sensible clothing that included a brown shirt and beige dress, keeping her hair tied back in a ponytail. One of the students in Noah's group was a Spanish boy by the name of Roberto; others included a young man with snake like scales, a muscular boy with black hair and a blonde haired girl. Their guides name was Ororo Munroe.

"I am part of Xavier's second generation of students, I came here four years ago when I was only fourteen years old, I was unfamiliar with the modern American culture because I had lived in a village most of my life being worshipped as a goddess, and for a while I was arrogant enough to believe that I was a goddess, however Xavier and a S.H.I.E.L.D. agent showed me that I wasn't a god, in fact I was far from being great at all, here Xavier teaches his students not only to better control their powers but to better themselves as people, I still have trouble handling VCR's but I've learned not to interfere with nature unless absolutely necessary" Ororo explained as she walked the students through her garden in the mansions attic.

"These are beautiful" The Blonde haired girl said, running her hand across a set of lily's.

"Thank you Maria, Botany is one of the courses that Xavier offers, others include fitness management, business studies, geology and other scientific areas"

"Man, half of these flowers I've only seen in books" Noah said.

"I've never seen this one before" The boy with the Black hair said, pointing his finger close to a flowed with a white head.

The bud twitched and suddenly came to life, biting the boy's hand.

"AAAGH GET THIS THING OFF ME!" He yelled as the flower growled.

"KEVIN STOP DOING THAT!" Ororo yelled.

The flower suddenly became totally white and changed to play dough like substance. It suddenly began to grow and jumped off of the table, slowing shaping into a humanoid figure. Ororo shook her head as the newer students gasped, for the figures white colour changed to a Caucasian skin tone. The teen had brown hair and green eyes and wore blue jeans with yellow boots; his T-shirt also had the words "party naked" on the chest.

"Kevin, how many times do you have to do that, the students are supposed to enjoy their time here" Ororo said, poking the boy "Kevin's" chest as she pushed him towards the door.

"And they do enjoy their time here once they're properly introduced" Kevin said as he sidestepped so that he could see the new students. "Welcome to the X-School, I'm Kevin Sydney but you can all call me Morph"

"As you might have guessed Kevin here is a shape shifter, despite his playful nature he's the leader of the New Mutants training squad and one of our third generation students" Ororo explained.

"Thanks for the intro Ro, of course I could've illustrated my whole origin story personally" Morph said with his signature cackle.

"Moving on I'll now show you our cafeteria"

"ALL RIGHT FOOOOOOD!" Morph drooled, his form now what appeared to be a chalk white Homer Simpson.

* * *

The X-men had just returned from their mission and were awaiting the review from the original team. Scott was the first to enter, wearing his ruby quartz glasses as usual. Then came Jean, Hank, Warren and Bobby the rest of the original X-men, each one of them out of their old costumes. Scott, or Cyclops as he was sometimes known as sat in the middle, with the other old X-men beside him.

"All right Sage showed us the footage of the battle and we all formed our own opinions on your performance, but either way we've come to the conclusion that some of you are ready to take on training squads" Scott explained.

"Training squads? Wait I thought we were here for full time X-men membership" Alison said.

"While true that your capable of holding your own in a fight you particularly Alison have a long way to go" Jean said calmly.

"THAT'S BULLSHIT!" Dazzler yelled.

"Watch your language young lady and don't forget you blew Toad of a roof, if he hadn't had his mutation then he wouldn't have landed on his feet" Hank began.

"And he would have ended up landing on his head, do you know what happens when someone lands on their head at that height?" Bobby asked, serious for this moment.

"Can you live with someone's death on your conscience?" Scott asked.

Alison lowered her head and grinded her teeth together. The others thought on this as well, particularly Piotr since his mutation was probably the best developed and dangerous.

"Xavier's going to create a New team, several actually and he wants some of you to lead training squads while others become members of the new teams" Warren said, running a hand through his long blonde hair.

"Not leaders?" Beak asked.

"Well you see only Polaris has outright shown qualities of leadership, the rest of you would make good leaders if you hone that skill as instructors" Beast explained.

"So who stays and who goes?" Rahne asked.

"Colossus and Beak stay and become team mates for my team" Cyclops began.

"Rahne and Sam will lead new training squads" Rahne's eyes lit up at the comment, teaching was something she was beginning to show an interest in.

"Polaris will join a team that will be led by a new team member coming in tomorrow"

"But wait Cyclops I thought that Lorna had leadership qualities" Piotr said, equally as surprised as Lorna.

"She's good but there's room for improvement, now finally Dazzler will undergo retraining with other potential New X-men" Scott finished.

"What the fuck why do I have to retrain, because I almost killed some stinky punk?" Alison asked.

"Yes!" Scott said, his simple answer made Dazzler visibly angrier and the others had to laugh at how easy it was.

* * *

Outside some of the new students were already beginning to fit in. Or at least some of them were, Kevin was sitting underneath the shade of the tree while the black haired student beside him leant against it.

"What's your name?" he asked.

"Kevin Ford"

"Vergil…no last name"

"Is there any reason why?" Kevin asked nervously.

"If I told you you'd only drop your head and say sorry" Vergil said.

It was then that a group of older students walked up to them. One had Black Hair and walked with a cocky expression across his face. His friends were a red haired girl, whose skin was remarkable made of metal and even more remarkably a bulky teen made of granite. The black haired boy, the apparent leader of the group bounced a ball in his hand as he looked at both Kevin and Vergil.

"So what is this the outcast area…maybe you should invite Collins and Wagner over" The boy said.

Vergil merely ignored his comment while Kevin stood up.

"Julian Keller, these are my friends Cessily and Santo"

"Oh I'm Kevin, Kevin Ford…listen I'm not looking for any trouble" Kevin said nervously.

"I'm not trying to make trouble I'm just wondering whose side your on?" Julian said.

"Excuse me?"

"At Xavier's there are numerous training squads, you two might be put on one, but there are only really two sides, those who want to be Hellions and those who want to be New Mutants, the best squads in the school" Julian began.

"Statistically the Hellions and New Mutants are even but the Hellions are better, we've got strength, speed and heart, three of the most important things for an X-men team" Cessily said.

"That and we haven't got complete losers in our team" Santo grinned.

"Hey Sofia's all right and hot, it's the others who are complete losers" Julian said.

"Well I don't want to be a New Mutant or a Hellion so see you around" Vergil said before he walked away.

"Whatever, so Kevin would you like to play some basketball with us?" Cessily asked.

"I…I cant really play physical games, sorry, but I will watch" Kevin said.

* * *

"There's only one way to spend an open day at Xavier's…LAST MAN STANDING!" A Blue skinned girl yelled as load as she could inside the Danger Room.

The students she was watching were each wearing the yellow and blue X-themed training uniforms that all of the students wore. One of the student's body was composed entirely of red hot flames, flames would fly out of his hands as he drew away any sabre tooth tiger that tried attacking the team. The theme of the danger room was the savage land, a place that remarkably enough was the home to dinosaurs amongst other animals.

"Dude are there seriously weird plants in the Savage land?" A boy with grey skin and quills in his hair asked, struggling to free himself from the vines of a giant flytrap, his friend, a girl with a cat like appearance, including white streaks in her hair tried to rip the vines apart.

"You better believe it Quill" The Blue skinned girl said, running a hand through her white hair.

A red haired boy with toned abs and red feather wings sticking out of his back flew in midair, dodging the chops of T-Rex's and rolling out of the way of flying dinosaurs and insects.

"You know Vanessa when my Brother told me about this place I was under the impression that we would avoid violence and actually learn something" He said.

"Please call me Copycat Joshua!"

"Fine, and call me Jay, I've heard there's already one Josh at the school and I don't want to confuse people" The boy said.

"Whatever cutie" Copycat winked at the blushing red head.

The scenery suddenly disappeared and a panel on the wall slid open to reveal the Danger rooms control room. Inside it was Sage and Banshee, the latter of which was tapping his foot against the floor.

"All right Vanessa I gave specific instructions for you not to let them in here" Sean said over the intercom.

"Yes sir but to be fair you didn't say anything about me taking them in here" Vanessa said with a grin.

Sean grinded his teeth together while Sage shrugged her shoulders.

"She does bring up a good point, perhaps next time you should be more specific" She said and the newer students giggled at the lack of emotion in her voice, which only served to anger Sean even more.

Vanessa soon guided the new students out of the danger room. She smiled at a brown haired student walking across the corridors towards the men's showers. Suddenly the corridor became covered by black and purple smoke. The students all coughed and the cat like girl hissed as she saw a pair of yellow eyes glow through the smoke.

"Sorry Mein Freunds I've been trying to not release so much smoke vhen I teleport" A boy with a thick German accent said, he was relatively short with black, almost blue hair and brown eyes. "I'm Kurt Vagner, a senior student at the school"

"And a star in our drama classes, his forte is entrances" Vanessa said.

"I wonder why" Quill whispered to his fiery friend, who giggled in response.

"Now Kurt can you be a dear and take this class for me, I just remembered I have some homework to do" Vanessa said.

"But I thought that you vere on your last year"

"Thanks!" Vanessa giggled before running off.

Kurt sighed, realising he couldn't leave the new students on their own. So he put on a comforting smile and motioned for them to follow him.

"Here at Xavier's ve are taught to accept our powers and the views of others, however after that ve are taught to blend in with society so that ve don't put ourselves at risk, which is why I vear this image inducer built into my watch, it vas made by Forge and emits a hologram of my current appearance" Kurt explained.

"What do you really look like?" Jay asked.

Kurt hesitantly pushed a button on his watch and the hologram faded, revealing his true appearance. His skin was now a blue colour, his canines were sharper than usual and he had elf shaped ears and the most shocking features were his prehensile tail and his hands and feet, he had two fingers and a thumb on each hand and two big toes on each foot that looked like they were ideal for grabbing onto objects.

"Accepting ourselves is but one part of what Xavier's is about, learning to keep ourselves and others safe is paramount to why ve are here, now, who vants to see where you'll be spending your nights?"

* * *

Outside Kevin watched Julian and his friends play against another trio of students, which included a blonde haired boy, and two African American students, one of whom wore a pair of orange sunglasses. Of course Julian was winning, because of his own abilities of Telekinesis, or at least that's what Kevin assumed it was as the ball floated above the hoop before it fell into it. Kevin's eyes then crossed over the two girls he had seen earlier, particularly the blonde haired one. His eyes then fell as he noticed her staring at the blonde haired boy.

'Damn it, why is it that the cute girls have to be taken, then again its not as if I could ever be in a relationship with anyone' Kevin thought.

"Don't think that, of course you can be with someone"

Kevin turned around to see a raven-haired girl standing before him. What shocked him was that she was absolutely stunning, the blonde haired girl was cute but this young woman was beautiful. Her body and skin was perfect, even her hair was perfectly straight, she wasn't even wearing any makeup and she was perfect.

"Sorry about prying, I'm Selene Gallio" The girl said.

Kevin found himself captivated by the beauty's presence and stuttered as he introduced himself.

"I'm…K…Kevin"

Selene smiled at Kevin's nervousness. She took his hand and pulled at the glove.

"Wait…it's not safe to touch me" Kevin said.

"It's okay Kevin, you won't hurt me…I'm the only person you can't hurt" Selene said as she took Kevin's glove off and pressed his hand against her cheek.

Kevin stared in shock at what had happened, or rather what hadn't happened. His powers meant that he could never touch anyone without killing them, but this girl was rubbing his hand against her cheek.

"Your hands are warm…I like warmth" Selene said, winking at the blushing Kevin.

Selene traced her hand across Kevin's chin as she walked past him. Kevin looked back and to his surprise the girl had disappeared.

* * *

Noah had never been happier in his life than how he was now. He balanced the soccer ball on his foot and kicked it into the air, showing off to his fellow students. Some of the other newer students walked over and watched as Noah passed the ball onto Roberto. The Latino boy balanced the ball on his head before flipping it to Noah. He aimed and kicked the ball towards the goal. The ball flew straight over the goal and Noah dropped his head in embarrassment.

"Don't worry guys, I'll get it" The Snake like student said before he ran off.

"Your pretty good Noah, I hope you get on my squad" Roberto said.

"Thanks, I just need to work on my aim" Noah grinned.

"Hey what's taking Robbie so long?" One of the students asked.

"Oh there he is!" Maria said, pointing to the snake like student as he ran out of the forest.

"He looks like he's in a hurry" Roberto said.

"HELP ME!" Robbie screamed.

The countless students outside the mansion all looked to Robbie as he yelled out for help. Suddenly a beam ripped through the forest and ripped through Robbie's chest. With a hole in his chest he limped forward towards the basketball court and fell to his knees.

"Oh my god!" Ororo said as Robbie's lifeless form slumped to the ground.

Xavier opened his eyes as he felt the life of his student slip away. He rolled towards the window and looked out at the school ground as the students began to panic.

"Oh no, please no!" He said to himself as an armoured figure hovered out of the forest.

The figure he saw was none other than a miniaturised Sentinel, one who had been killing countless mutants before turning its attention to the mansion.

"Targets identified, destroy all mutants!" The Sentinel said as he armed his weapons.

Next Chapter 3: The Massacre

**Target List-Notable Xavier Institute mutants**

**Advisors:**

**Sean Cassidy**

**Sage-Name unknown**

**Scott Summers**

**Jean Grey-Threat level Omega class priority-destroy on site**

**Robert Drake-Threat level high**

**Warren Worthington the third**

**Henry McCoy**

**Forge-Name Unknown-Threat level high**

**Charles Xavier**

**Students-Considered threats**

**Ororo Munroe-Threat level omega class priority**

**Katherine Pryde-Threat level Omega class priority**

**Remy Lebeau**

**Cessily Kincaid**

**Julian Keller-Threat Level high**

**Shiro Yoshida-Threat level high**

**Joshua Foley**

**John Proudstar**

**Kurt Wagner**

**Danielle Moonstar**

**Selene Gallio-Threat Level unknown**

**Monet St. Croix**

**Albert Louis**

**Sofia Montega**

**Everett Thomas-Threat level Omega**

**Santo Vacarro**

**Vanessa Geraldine Carlsle**

**Kevin Sydney**

**David Alleyne**

**Laura Collins**

**Noriko Ashida**

**Notable New students**

**Valeria Richards**

**Kevin Ford**

**Zuzha Yu**

**Theodore Winchester**

**Roberto DaCosta**

**Noah Kevinson**

**Virgil Wallace-More data needed**

**X-men**

**Barnell Bohusk-Target designate Beak**

**Piotr Rasputin-Target designate Colossus**

**Rahne Sinclair-Target designate Wolfsbane**

**Lorna Dane-Target Designate Polaris**

**Samuel Guthrie-Target Designate Cannonball**

**Alison Blaire-Target Designate Dazzler**

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next time is when things really begin. The list above is basically told from Karl's point of view. Occassionally when there's a roster change Karl will update his database. But everyone in the list will have a major role to play.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

* * *

The Dream we share

Chapter 3: Massacre

He watched them from the bushes, watching them live the life his creators wished to deny them. They were playing basketball, like they were normal. Each one of them smiled and laughed as the ringleader, a black haired boy talked about how "hot" he thought S.H.I.E.L.D's Black Widow was. They dressed in regular casual clothing and expressed nervousness over the classes that would begin tomorrow. But that was impossible, illogical; they weren't human so how could they talk about such human problems.

Logic didn't matter, eliminating mutants was the reason he was created, the meaning of his existence.

But he needed to think logically in this situation.

Logic does not matter, only the mission!

* * *

**Five minutes until attack**

Xavier's school had been one of the best things that had ever happened to the young man. He had a home, tons of friends and an amazingly fun girlfriend. The young man stood in the showers, alone as he washed the shampoo off his hair.

"Hey handsome, want me to soap your back" A girl asked, running her hands across his toned frame.

The young man turned around and smirked as he saw the naked Lorna Dane.

"Sorry Lorna but I promised I'd let Monet wash me, I prefer her dark skin and strong grip" The boy said.

"Do you now?" "Lorna" asked as she gripped the young mans arse, her form suddenly changed to a taller black haired girl with tanned skin.

"That seems better" He said as he placed his hand on her cheek and brushed his lips against her.

"Monet" gripped the back of her lover's head as she captured his mouth with hers. Their tongues wrestled as their naked forms rubbed against one another. Slowly the girls body began to shrink slightly and her skin changed to a pale blue colour. Her hair grew slightly longer and changed to a white colour.

"I thought you were stuck with the new kids"

"I dumped them on Kurt" Vanessa said, rubbing the boys neck as he kissed her shoulders and rubbed her thighs.

Vanessa had spent the better quarter of her childhood at the mansion and though she didn't enjoy the lessons she admitted the place had its advantages. One such advantage was the abundance of powerful and handsome men. Her lover gripped her neck gently and softly kissed her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck and licked his mouth and nose.

"Who do you want me to be this time?" Vanessa asked.

"Lets save it for the special day Vanessa, only two weeks before the Prof disappears for a day, Cassidy will be visiting Moira and Sage is gonna be in Britain, and the Prof hasn't had much luck finding a baby sitter so that means the mansion belongs to the students and the X-men"

"It's going to be a fantastic night" Vanessa grinned.

"Please no Invisible Woman, she's getting less sexy, how about Spider-woman, the one who should be the number one most sexiest super hero"

"What about me?"

"Maybe if you have a bigger cup size!" The boy said teasingly.

"Be Careful what you wish for baby"

* * *

**Three minutes before attack**

Kurt walked the students into the library, which was only occupied by Piotr, Hank McCoy and David Alleyne, an African American teen with the telepathic ability to synch off of people's skills and knowledge.

"This as you can see is the library, here ve have a large quantity of literature, text books and computer access to the internet, adult sites have been blocked before you ask" Kurt explained and the boys sighed in disappointment.

Hank shook his head at the reaction, one he never grew tired of. When the original X-men came to the mansion it was all danger room exercises, no teachers or classrooms, just bedrooms, a library and subbasement. He felt that these new student tour days were true testaments to how far the school had come.

"Oh my god, is that the Beast?" The fiery new student asked.

"Ah yes, that is Hank McCoy, but…"

"Ah man, is it true you were asked to join the Avengers?"

"Have you ever had fleas?"

"Are Cyclops and Marvel Girl an item?"

Those were the questions that began bombarding a flustered Hank, while David and Piotr merely shook their heads. A brown haired girl quite literally poked hair head out of the floor. She smiled as she phased through the floor and into the library.

"Katya, how are you today?" Piotr asked.

"I'm fine thanks, hi David" The girl said and David gave her a small wave before returning to reading his book. "Have you seen Alexis?"

"She must be outside, why are you asking?"

"That boy she met at the mall called back, he sounded interested" Kitty smiled.

"That's good, looks like things are starting to turn around for her" Piotr said.

"Well…I'll see you guys later okay" Kitty said before she phased back through the floor.

David shook his head as Piotr looked at where she had been in confusion. Though David's telepathy didn't allow him to hear thoughts, he still had a genius level IQ and he didn't even need that to detect the real reason why Kitty had come.

* * *

**One minute before attack**

Jean Grey and Scott Summers both sat in Jean's bedroom, looking over the files for the X-men candidates.

"Do you think it's unfair to demote Alison?" Scott asked.

"Of course not, don't listen to Warren, he's just got the hot's for her" Jean said.

"I don't think Alison's his type"

"Maybe…though they do say opposites attract"

"We all know that's wrong" Scott said, looking at Jean as he spoke.

Jean smiled and the two continued to stare at one another.

"So…do you think that we should…put Peter on as a training instructor?" Scott asked.

Jean giggled at Scott's nervousness, something he had ever since he came to the school. Suddenly, Jean's eyes glowed a fiery orange colour and she cried out. Scott threw his chair aside and ran to her side.

"Oh god, oh god…he was so young" Jean cried.

"Jean what's wrong?" Scott asked.

**"X-MEN THERE'S SOMETHING OUTSIDE! HE'S JUST KILLED ROBERT!!!"**

The X-men heard Xavier's psychic cry, and immediately knew what they had to do. Piotr switched to his metallic form and crashed through the wall, landing in the school grounds. Beast followed him out, landing in front of Colossus to look at the one who had attacked their home. The Sentinel's eyes glowed a fierce red colour before flying towards the nearest group of students, a trio of girls.

Sophia Mantega saw the Sentinel approaching and lashed out with her powers. The wind blew furiously at the robot, pushing him back only slightly. He took flight into the air, increasing the speed of his rockets to push past the affects of the wind. Landing behind the three girls, the Sentinel aimed the palm of his hand at the black haired girl and without a moments hesitation he fired.

The girl dropped to the floor, the hole in her chest smoking as her eyes lost their colour. Students were screaming around him but that didn't make the job any harder. Two more experienced students were running at him, close combat wasn't recommended with the steel skinned one. He analysed the situation and attacked the weakest links for now.

Aiming the palm of his hand, the Sentinel fired two stronger blasts of energy, burning two more students to piles of ash. Sophia grabbed her friend Laurie and flew as fast as she could away from the Sentinel. Colossus lifted his fist and tried to punch the machine. But the Sentinel hovered to the side before landing a swift kick to Piotr's head, knocking him back a few steps. Lorna, Alison and Rahne ran out of the mansion, pushing past the screaming students.

"Dani, where's Josh?" Rahne asked a Native American girl.

"I don't know, he was playing Basketball with Jaime and Everett" The girl said helplessly. "That thing, he killed Lucas and Ben"

"Dear god" Rahne said, clutching the cross on her neck.

Dazzler and Polaris both growled as they ran to where the fighting was going on. The Sentinel flew past Colossus and Beast as he fired two shots, hitting a blonde haired boy in the back of the leg.

"HANK GET JOSH AWAY NOW!!!" Colossus yelled.

They were just like humans; they came out with human reactions. It was typical of human beings to try and save themselves. They would do anything to survive, even push other people to the ground. Approximately ten more students had remained behind. One girl had a twisted ankle, the perfect target, a boy had remained behind to carry her away, also a perfect target. A curious boy that had remained with his friends had also remained.

His database told him that boy had healing abilities, they could benefit the world.

The world's fate isn't important, only completing the mission. Josh Foley's friends are unknown. Two experienced combatants remain, work around them to complete the mission then destroy them last.

Colossus grabbed the Sentinel and gripped as tightly as he could.

"You come here to our home, how do you think this is going to end for you?" He asked, pure rage gripping his voice.

The Steel mans voice shows that he is desperate. He must be trying to distract us from our mission.

Switch priority to self-defence.

The Sentinel took flight, lifting Colossus off the ground. He flew as high as he could before flying back down towards the ground. The Sentinel crashed into the ground like a missile, digging Colossus's head into the dirt.

"PETER!!!" Lorna yelled as she, Ali and Rahne reached the battle.

The Green haired girl is Lorna Dane, a metal manipulator. With the magnets installed in the armour she is of no concern, returning to eliminating target Josh Foley, as well as escaping mutants.

Dazzler fired a burst of energy at the Sentinel, who flew to the side, avoiding the potentially crippling attack. He flew forward, taking the metal shrapnel that Polaris launched at him as if they were finger flicks. Beast and Wolfsbane ran at the Sentinel, Rahne jumped at the machine in her hybrid wolf form. But the Sentinel dealt a punishing blow to her stomach, shattering her ribs. He then slapped Beast aside and fired a deadly accurate shot at the black haired student as he piggybacked the girl Maria out of danger. The shot tore through their chests, killing them both.

The mutants have retreated into their mansion, trying to hide. But that was such a human response.

Animals hide from danger, that doesn't make them human.

A blade slid out of the Sentinel's wrist as he hovered above Josh.

"EVERETT DON'T!!!" Hank yelled as an African American boy ran at the Sentinel.

A rainbow aura shined around Everett as his skin changed into a metal similar to Colossus's. His eyes also shined a green colour and his fists were covered in a light similar to the one Dazzler made. He punched the Sentinel across the eye, taking off a chunk of its armour. The Sentinel turned its face and looked at Everett. Everett and the X-men gasped in horror at what they were looked at. With its right eye lense shattered, it was revealed that the Sentinel's eyes weren't circuits or lenses, but an actual blue coloured human eye.

The mutant is distracted, the perfect opening.

The Sentinel grabbed Everett's head and what happened next caused the X-men to cover their mouths. Without even a seconds hesitation the Sentinel blew off Everett's head. Bits of the boy's skull and brain matter were spread out across the floor and blood stained the Sentinel's face. He turned his eyes to the X-men, just as Cannonball, Iceman and Scott and Jean ran out of the mansion. Inside the mansion Xavier cried as he rolled through the crowd of students.

"Professor, what happened?" Kitty asked.

"The Sentinel, he's just killed Everett" Xavier said.

Monet St Croix, Everett's girlfriend immediately cried out. She cluthced her shoulders, crying hysterically.

"Everyone, get down to the subbasement, Sean and Sage will protect you down there"

"What about you Professor?" Noah asked.

"I will stay here, wait where are Ororo, Kevin and Julian and his friends?" The Professor asked.

Outside the clouds started to form together, rain batted against the shoulders of the Sentinel as lighting flashed around him. He flew from side to side, dodging every bolt that crashed down on the earth.

The White haired African girl has weather manipulating powers, a dangerous target that needed to be killed.

Julian Keller and his friends surrounded the Sentinel. The cocky telekinetic known as Hellion focused on holding the Sentinel in place. Suddenly a part of the machines chest popped open and a piercing sound flew into Julian's ears. He lost his concentration and flew around. Angel flew in; grabbing Julian while Beak grabbed Cessily.

"What are you idiots doing here, its too dangerous" Warren said as Rockslide ran at the Sentinel.

Santo punched at the Sentinel, who easily dodged the blows. As the Sentinel flew backwards, Bobby changed his skin into its diamond ice form. He travelled across the grounds with his ice slide, firing a blast of freezing energy at the Sentinel. The Sentinel flew upwards, performing various manoeuvres to dodge blasts launched by Cyclops, Dazzler and Polaris. Jean flew into the air, a aura of fiery energy surrounding her form as she looked at the Sentinel. She fired a stream of fire at the Sentinel, who used his blade as a shield.

Heat is clearly ineffective against the Sentinel armour. These mutants are ignorant.

Like humans!

But they aren't human!

Xavier and Jean widened their eyes as they felt something with their telepathy. Cyclops widened his eyes as he saw Jean floating in the air, frozen as the Sentinel flew towards her with its red-hot blade ready. But before the Sentinel could get within another inch of Jean, a white bat like creature flew into the Sentinel's side. The two wrested across the air, exchanging blows before the creature turned into a chalk white version of Angel.

"Sorry buddy, but what kind of X-man would I be if I let you kill my friends" Morph said with a grin as he dodged shot after shot from the Sentinel's blaster.

Morph's hand changed into a fist similar to the Things before he punched the Sentinel in the face, sending him flying towards the ground.

"MORPH GET OUT OF HERE THAT THING KILLED EVERETT!!" Ororo yelled as she focused on where the Sentinel had landed.

Morph's cocky expression turned to one of shock at the news of a fellow students death. Lighting flew down from the sky, slamming into the crater the Sentinel left.

"EVERYONE HIT HIM WITH EVERYTHING YOU'VE GOT!!!" Cyclops yelled as he and the X-men ran towards the crater.

"NO SCOTT WAIT!!" Jean yelled.

"What do you mean wait? THAT PIECE OF SHIT KILLED EVERETT!!" Josh Foley yelled as Beast carried him away.

"I think we have a problem, he's not there" Beak said as he looked at the crater.

"Oh my god, he's digging down to the subbasement" Warren realised.

* * *

The Sentinel used his blasters to tunnel towards the subbasement. His sensors had detected a large amount of mutants gathering in the basement, two of whom were in the showers. Those who were alone were ideal targets for easy execution. And the masses were ideal because they were the masses. The more mutants he killed the better things would be.

But how did logic like that work?

It didn't matter; this is his purpose, and the only reason he is in this world. He would fulfil his purpose no matter what.

"He's not just a Sentinel, he's a person" Jean said as she landed on the floor.

"What are you talking about?" Beak asked.

"I don't know but I'm hearing thoughts, that thing has a mind and its fighting for sentience" Jean explained as Colossus, Iceman and Polaris jumped into the hole.

The Sentinel finally reached its destination, crashing through the ceiling of the subbasement showers. Vanessa and her boyfriend looked in shock as the robot focused its eyes on them.

"VANESSA GET OUT OF…" But the boy's words were too late, as the Sentinel fired a beam that vapourised his heart.

Vanessa screamed as he boyfriends naked form fell to the floor. The door flew open and Sean stepped in, he gathered air into his mouth before unleashing a piercing scream that threw the Sentinel into the wall. Sage ran into the room and grabbed Vanessa, leading her to the group that had gathered in the Danger Room. The Sentinel got up off the floor, but was quickly faced by Colossus and the other X-men that had followed him down. Polaris blasted the Sentinel into the wall some more, but the Sentinel fired a beam out of its chest, pushing Colossus into Polaris and Sean, throwing them out of the room. He then grabbed Iceman and crashed through the wall, into the danger room.

The mutants are screaming, cowering in fear or getting ready to defend themselves. They were animal instincts and yet their facial expressions are so human.

Humans and animals generally act the same way, just because Mutants acted like they are human doesn't mean they are.

"CLARICE GET THEM TO THE TOP!!" Sage yelled.

The Sentinel fired his blasters, killing several other students before a pink skinned girl used her teleportation powers. Colossus crashed through the wall and was followed after by Dazzler, Cyclops, Hellion and Morph.

"**Scott please wait, I can still reach who's inside there"**Xavier said telepathically as he made his way down to the subbasement.

"I'm sorry Professor but we don't have a choice" Cyclops said as he pushed the button on his visor and fired a shot at the sentinel.

The machine flew to the side and into the arms of Colossus. Piotr yelled as he pulled on the Sentinel's arms with all his strength. The Sentinel kicked Colossus in the face and activated its rockets, causing Colossus to let go from the heat. Dazzler fired a burst of light straight into the Sentinel's back, blowing up its rocket pack. It rolled across the floor, avoiding a crushing punch from Colossus. Then it jumped to its feet and dived to the side to dodge blasts from both Cyclops and Polaris.

"Guys if the Prof says he can reach whoever is in there then lets let him try" Morph said.

"OH WHAT SO HE CAN LIVE HAPPILY EVER AFTER! HE'S A MURDERER IT DOESN'T MATTER WHETHER HE'S BEING CONTROLLED!!!"

"Would you say the same thing if it was one of us Ali?" Warren asked as he and Hank entered the room.

Up above, Jean was focusing her mind with everything she had, trying to reach some part of the Sentinel that was still human. Xavier rolled through the corridors of the subbasement while Morph, Beast and Angel held the Sentinel inside the danger room.

"Get out of the way, I need a clear shot" Cyclops said.

"No Scott, if there's still something that can be considered alive in here then we have to bring it to the surface, if you don't agree then you've got no right to call yourself an X-man if we don't try" Morph said.

"What the fuck do you know about being an X-man?" Dazzler asked.

"I know enough to know that if we have a chance to save someone we do it, I know enough to know that the number one rule of the X-men is we don't kill" The Shapeshifter said, looking defiantly at the X-men leader.

Suddenly the Sentinel activated a device on his chest, creating a shockwave that threw the X-men back. He aimed the palm of his hand at Cyclops, who hesitantly put his hand to his visor. Cyclops fired a blast from his eyes, consuming the Sentinel's arm. Electrical sparks and blood ran across the floor as the one armed Sentinel took a step towards the fallen X-men. His head suddenly twitched as Xavier wheeled into the room and reached into his mind.

Priority has changed, eliminate Charles Xavier and destroy his dream. Destroy the dream so that humanity can take its rightful place on Earth. Kill Charles Xavier and fulfil the meaning of your existence.

The Sentinel stumbled across the floor, his arm twitching as he aimed the palm of his hand directly at Xavier's head.

"You poor boy" Xavier whispered, realising that saving this child may be a difficult task

But Xavier already had an impossible dream; a difficult task was nothing to him. The headmaster of the school for the gifted put his hands to his head, even as the hole in the Sentinel's hand began to glow.

Next Chapter 4: Breaking through

* * *

Hope everyone enjoys the chapter, please leave us a review, it helps me to know what people think of the fic. Anyway I'll be introducing two X-men favourites next chapter while at the same time Xavier will be trying to save Karl.


	4. Chapter 4

The Dream we share

Chapter 4: Breaking through

Alls Karl ever wanted was to be a hero, for people to see him do well. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how kind he was to people no one ever respected him. Those friends that Karl did make, quickly left him when he became a target for bullies. Teachers ignored them, stating it was just friendly banter. But it was far from friendly when they started shoving his head down toilets. So Karl pushed back, he became much colder, especially to those who once claimed to be his friends.

"C English Literature, B Science, D Business, D Drama, A Mathematics, F for Religious studies, these grades are unacceptable Karl" His father said, throwing his sons report card on the dinner table.

"Where's Mum?" Karl asked gruffly.

"At church directing the choir, and don't change the subject, your grades have suffered"

"Wrong, my religious knowledge and belief has suffered and what the hell is that going to do for me? I'm going to be a doctor, or a lawyer…not pathetic bums like you and mom" Karl growled.

Xavier looked at the scene, alongside Karl. The boy was very much different from the Omega that Xavier had encountered at the mansion. His skin had a slight tan, while his hair was curly and brown.

"Tell me young man, what did you have against your parents?" Xavier asked.

"It wasn't what I had against them, it was what they had against me" Karl said gruffly.

"Repaying hate with hate will only lead to more of it child" Xavier said kindly.

"Don't start pulling stuff out of your ass old man, people will never return kindness, they'll exploit it"

"Yet people can learn to accept kindness, heroic examples is what can change other peoples views"

"Heroism!"

"All you ever wanted was for people to respect you Karl, did you ever think of just keeping the respect of those who already respected you?" Xavier asked.

"SHUT UP!! I DON'T HAVE ANYONE! ALL'S I HAVE IS MY PURPOSE…I MUST COMPLETE THE MISSION!!!" Karl yelled, his eyes glowing a fierce red hue.

Xavier grinded his teeth together as he felt the Sentinel's defences push him out of Karl's mind. The Proto-Omega Sentinel twitched its fingers as it aimed its blaster at Xavier. But Xavier didn't move, he wouldn't move no matter what.

"Let me in Karl, let me be your friend" Xavier whispered and sent telepathically into the boys mind.

The Proto clutched its head, grinding its teeth together. Cyclops put his hand to his visor, but lowered it. He knew Xavier had a good chance of saving this boy. But others like Dazzler and Polaris had different views. The two girls aimed the palms of their hands at Karl. Hesitantly, Cyclops looked at the two girls, and then pushed the button on his visor. He fired a thin beam that slammed into Lorna's side, pushing her into Alison. Julian flew into the room; cupping his hands together and smacking Scott round the back of the head.

"YOU DAMN RACE TRAITORS! HE'LL KILL US ALL!!!" Alison yelled as she got up off the floor.

"Damn I can't tell you how long I've waited to do that" Julian said, grabbing Cyclops's visor with his Telekinesis.

"We've got your back man" Santo said, walking into the room with Monet at his side.

"HIM! HE'S THE ONE WHO KILLED EVERETT ISNT HE!!!" Monet yelled, pointing her finger at the Proto-Omega.

Xavier knew he had to do something to stop his students. But he also knew that if he didn't at least try to save the boy trapped by the programming of the Sentinel and let his students tear him apart then he would never forgive himself. For now he would have to cope on those students that weren't willing to fight for revenge. Jean grabbed Monet with her telekinesis, slamming her into the wall. Piotr slammed his fist into Santo's cheek, knocking him to the ground. Morph wrapped his arms around Julian, throwing him against the wall. Xavier counted on these students to keep their ethics, and he counted on the other students to keep themselves safe and stay out of the fight.

* * *

Alls Irene Adler ever wanted was for the girl she raised to be happy. That was all her lover, the girls true adoptive mother ever wanted. But Irene saw what the future held for the girl, that was her gift. Though she was blind, she knew what most people looked like. She knew that her best friends adoptive daughter Anna was just a Sixteen-year-old girl, her athletic form and features made her attractive to every boy in Mississippi. Perhaps her most defining feature was the white Streak running through the middle of her waist length brown hair.

"All right, if anything bad happens just do what your mother told you and walk away" Irene told the girl, but she knew nothing out of the ordinary would happen at this party.

"Don't worry Irene, ah know how to keep myself safe, Cody should be here any minute now to pick me up" The girl said, her accent was thick reflecting her Mississippi upbringing.

A jeep rolled up towards the house and without so much as a goodbye Anna ran out the door. She climbed into the jeep, giving the young blonde hair boy a kiss on the cheek. Irene sat back on her chair as the jeep drove away.

'Raven, is all this really necessary?' Irene thought, removing her glasses, her eyes glowing a yellow colour as she saw what lay ahead in the future.

* * *

The smell of stale beer and cigar smoke, that was often the smell that comforted him the most. Old, rundown bars were one of his favourite places. He stabbed his cheap cigar into the ashtray, blowing out the smoke as he clutched his beer bottle. Every person in the bar looked at the stranger before them, who was on his eighth beer without showing any signs of the alcohol affecting him.

"Your either got a clockwork liver or you've drunk stronger beer before" The bartender said, rubbing his sweating beard.

"I guess you could say it's a bit of both" The man said gruffly.

"Well who am I to judge, your getting me more money that any of these guys do in a week" The bartender smiled, waving to two customers who felt that it was time to leave.

Another customer walked up towards the stranger, gripping his shoulder tightly.

"You can pretend to act all casual stranger but I know what you are, and quite frankly I don't think Josh here should be serving your kind" The man said.

The stranger remained silent for a moment, a frown crossing his face.

"You got something against Canadian's bub?" He asked.

"Just mutants…bub!" The man shoved the stranger, who remained motionless to the surprise of the bar tender.

The bartender was surprised because one of his regular customers, a giant of a man with the muscles to boot didn't scare or move a six foot two man an inch. This Canadian stranger wore a black leather jacket with yellow circles on the sleeves, a pair of blue jeans with thick brown boots, even without the jacket, the tender could tell that this man worked out. His hair was brown but thick and wild, covering his cheeks like a beard.

"Then do you really want to pick a fight here?" The man asked with a growl.

"I sure do…bub!" Again he shoved the stranger with little affect.

The stranger sighed; he could smell that the man was drunk without facing him.

"I'll ask you once more, do you really want to pick a fight with these!"

Suddenly, three metallic blades shot out of his left knuckle. The bar tender and the customers gasped at the size of the blades.

"I can tell an old rundown place like this doesn't have any insurance, and I can tell that you really have no idea what your getting yourself into, so how about you get back to your drinks, let me buy seven more pints and ten packs of cigars then I'll be on my way…oh and you better hope that nothing happens to my bike outside" He added before retracting his claws.

Everyone returned to their drinks, but the setting became much more quiet. He turned his head to the TV in the corner of the bar, watching the news report intensively. Even if the room wasn't silent he would have heard every word the reporter spoke. He would have heard that there were murders in the streets of Bayville and that mutants were the victims. The man decided that he would return to one of the only places he had come to call home, after he had his seven beers.

* * *

Karl sat in his room, looking at the poster on his wall. The first generation of X-men, Angel, Iceman, Marvel Girl, Beast and Cyclops. They were his heroes, the hope they bought to humans and mutants everywhere. He leant back, smiling because he had once had the pleasure of seeing them fight. It was during the time that the government commissioned the Sentinel robots. Three units had been produced, all with the aim of finding mutant terrorists. Of course the X-men defended their fellow mutants, most of which would end up becoming students at Xavier's institute. In the end, the government scrapped the Sentinel program because the mutant terrorists that they were tracking were just regular citizens with mutant potential. So mutant "problems" were left to the X-men with guidance from S.H.I.E.L.D.

"KARL! IT'S TIME FOR CHURCH!!" Karl's mother yelled.

"I'M NOT GOING TODAY MUM!!" Karl yelled back.

"YES YOU ARE!!" His father yelled, swinging the door opened.

"I don't want to go so I don't have to, it's a free country you know, I'm Seventeen now I can look after the house myself" Karl said, getting off his bed.

"Your coming to church with your mother and I"

"Like hell I am" Karl growled.

Xavier widened his eyes as Karl's father slapped the boy across the face.

"Watch your mouth boy" He said firmly.

Karl growled as the scene disappeared, replaced with the school rest room. He looked at himself in the mirror, lowering his head as he saw the image of himself as the Proto-Omega.

"Tell me child, who are you trying to find?" Xavier asked.

"Not who, but when, that moment where I did something I could never take back, but it's gone" Karl said, his voice filled with regret. "But who is that looking back at me, why do I look like that?" He asked, tracing his finger along the mirror, examining the fierce features of the Omega.

"I don't know, but I promise you Karl, that I'll help you find out who did this terrible thing to you, and I promise that I'll stop him from doing it to anyone else" Xavier said.

He offered Karl his hand, and the boy looked at it hesitantly. Then he looked to the Proto-Omega, another who offered him a hand.

"We must fulfil our purpose"

The students of the Xavier institute crowded round Iceman, Beast and Angel.

"What's going on down there?" A blonde haired girl asked nervously.

"I'm not sure Laurie, I've been trying to listen in but Ororo's messing up the current of the wind" Sofia said.

Down in the subbasement, Julian yelled, creating a telekinetic wave that threw Morph against the wall. Dazzler fired a blast of light at Jean, knocking her backwards. Lorna aimed the palms of her hands at the Omega, her hands glowing as she used her magnetic powers. Dents appeared on the Omega's armour as Lorna lifted the Sentinel into the air. Monet flew at the Sentinel, but Cyclops opened his eyes for a brief moment, hitting Monet's chest with an optic beam. Santo got up off the floor, slamming his fist into Piotr's chin. But the Russian steel giant merely shrugged he punch off before lifting Santo off the ground.

"This is a life at stake Santo, surely even you can see that the X-men have to save lives" Piotr said, holding the boy in the air.

"WHAT ABOUT OUR LIVES!!!" Dazzler yelled.

Suddenly, Kurt teleported into the room. He wrapped his arms and legs around Dazzler. Then, he teleported out of the room, dumping Alison in the woods.

"BASTARD!!" Alison yelled, blasting a tree with her powers.

Jean flew to Scott's side, putting his visor on. Kurt then teleported behind Polaris, grabbing her shoulders and teleporting out of the room. Again, he left Lorna in the woods, teleporting back into the room. This time, Julian hit the boy with a telekinetic wave.

"I don't think so Kurt, that move will only work so often" Julian said with a smirk.

"YOU STUPID BRAT!!!" Cyclops yelled, firing a blast into Julian's back, slamming him into the wall.

"DO YOU TWO EVEN KNOW WHY YOU'RE FIGHTING!!" Jean yelled, her eyes glowing with a fiery effect as she grabbed Santo and Julian, slamming their heads together before she threw them against the wall.

"Monet I could understand, but what are you two trying to kill this guy for?" Morph asked wrapping his arms around Monet.

She thrashed her feet around, trying to launch herself at the Omega Sentinel.

"I know, you two just want to be "the heroes of the school" well guess what, killing someone isn't the way, if we have the chance to save this boy then we will" Morph said, determination was visible in his eyes.

Tears fell down Monet's eyes as she remembered the countless moments she had shared with Everett. Julian and Santo lowered their heads, realising that the only reason they were fighting was to show off. That's why Cessily hadn't come with them.

The students inside the room looked to Xavier as he took his hands off his head. He opened his eyes, looking at Karl, tears falling down his face. Karl looked at himself, staring at his hand and the sparks coming off of the circuits on his right joint.

"Why…why do I look like this…Oh…oh god, what have I done? No way…no no…WHY ME! WHERE ARE THEY! WHERE ARE THE BODIES!!!" Karl yelled.

He wanted to cry, more than anything he wanted to show his regret as he fell on his knees. Smashing his fist against the floor, he tried to force tears out of his eyes.

"I'm so sorry…I'm so so sorry!" He moaned.

Monet grinded her teeth together as the Sentinel looked up at her. His expression was so human, so filled with regret, but she didn't care.

"YOU BASTARD! I'LL RIP YOU APART!!" She yelled, thrashing around in Morph's tight grip.

Karl looked at the girl, wanting so badly to show her how much he regretted what he had done. Alls he ever wanted was to cry. Julian and Santo looked down at the boy, moaning and smashing his fist against the floor. They saw someone they had seen plenty of times before, someone who constantly cried. And most of the time it was those two that made them cry. Jean let go of the two boys, sensing that they now somewhat understood the foolishness in their actions. She wiped her eyes, trying to hold back the sorrow of their friend's deaths. Scott placed a hand on her shoulder, rubbing it soothingly. She grabbed his arm, burying her face in his chest.

Xavier rolled over towards the boy, placing a hand on his head. Karl looked up at the Professor, waiting for him to speak. But not a single word came out of Charles's mouth. Instead he sat there, patting Karl's head with comfort in his eyes and thoughts.

"I promise you Karl, I'll find out who did this to you if it's the last thing I do" Xavier said, the calming presence on his face was replaced by a fierce determination.

Scott and Jean recognised the Professors look, it was one that told them that he truly did mean what he said. A moment passed before Forge walked into the room.

"Forge old friend, please do all that you can for him" Xavier said, rolling past the mechanic.

Forge looked at the Sentinel with a sigh.

"Scott, Jean, could you help this young man to my workshop for me?" He asked.

Both first generation students nodded before walking towards Karl. They both kneeled down to his level, looking at him with hesitant smiles.

"Hello Karl, I'm Jean"

"And I'm Scott"

"We'll take you to someone who can help you" Jean said, her fiery eyes changing back to their green shade.

Karl nodded his head as he got up off the floor and followed the two students. Xavier rolled into the elevator, taking a deep breath as he travelled to the mansions ground floor. He knew he had a lot of explaining to do to parents and students alike. But for now, alls he could do was help to gather the dead.

Next Chapter 5: The Mourning

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, this Wolverine is based on the Wolverine from the X-men films


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

* * *

The Dream We share

Chapter 5: The mourning

Nick Fury had seen worse sights than the one he was looking at now. Ruined school grounds wasn't something new to him, he'd seen whole schools destroyed during World War 2. The one eyed man walked on the path from the gate to the mansion, paying no attention to the parents that were already coming to collect their children, both alive and dead. He didn't even waste a second to look at the parents crying over the black body bags. Most people called him cold, but Sage knew that the man was just experienced, he'd gotten used to death. But still, she knew that inside the mans mind he was imagining himself killing whoever was responsible. Though she could read his mind, Sage had worked under Fury when she was just a teenager.

"Sage!" Fury said, nodding his head at the woman as he walked through the schools main entrance.

She let the man do his job while she did hers, watch out for any new mutant readings whilst Xavier focused on talking to parents. Sean was left to talk with students along with Jean whilst Warren and Hank carried the bodies onto the front lawn. It was Scott that was left to talk with their government contacts, including Fury.

"All right, I want the absolute truth from you Summers, what happened?" Fury asked.

"It's a story I don't feel like sharing" Scott said, rubbing his hair.

"Too bad you sharing it, otherwise I could interview these traumatised students" Fury said, crossing his arms.

"God damn it Fury, we were hit by a Sentinel…it tore us apart"

Fury raised an eyebrow at the comment, the old sentinels were bigger than the mansion and they would have shown up on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s radars. No, this Sentinel was small, as tall as the average fully grown adult. And the damage done to the outside was consistent with battles that took place between mutants and normal enhanced humans. This Sentinel was short and more powerful than the Mk 2 series. But there was something else that bothered Fury, the fact that the Sentinel so easily defeated the X-men. Sentinels were machines, non-sentient beings that the X-men would show no mercy. Whatever hit the mansion was sentient, someone that the X-men wouldn't want to kill.

"A Sentinel huh…any proof of that?" Fury asked.

"Why in the hell would I lie to you about it?" Scott growled.

"Lie probably not…hide information yes, you've got a history of that you know"

Scott squeezed his hands together, wishing that someone in the mansion could mind fuck the soldier. But Fury kept his guard up, ignoring the young mans angered expression.

"Look...I'll drop it for now because you've lost friends and I can understand what your feeling, but don't think for a moment that I'm going to believe that a single Sentinel, even and enhanced one could have ripped apart half of the student population and be a problem for the X-men, what happened did it escape, did you destroy it, give me something to give to my superiors Summers" Fury said.

Scott grinded his teeth together, Fury was backing him into a corner.

'Jean, Sage anybody please respond' Scott thought.

"**What is it Scott?" **Jean asked.

'Fury wants to know about Karl, please tell me Forge is finished with him'

"Not even close…wait I've got an idea, Forge knows what he has to do but fortunately he doesn't need every part of Karl's old body"

'Then what should I do?' Scott wondered.

"Tell him we've got what's left of the body and take him to Forge's workshop as slowly as you can"

Scott looked towards Fury, who was tapping his foot against the floor impatiently.

"We managed to destroy it with great difficulty, we've got the body if you want to look at it" Scott said.

Fury looked at Scott, then looked at the floor. He walked across the room, going past Scott and walking straight out of the conference room. Scott ran after Fury, skidding to a halt as the man slowly walked on the path to Forge's workshop. How did the man know where to look? The one eyed man moved his hand towards the door handle.

"WAIT COLONEL FURY!" Scott yelled, desperately trying to buy Forge time.

"What now, do you want me out of here or not?" Fury asked.

"No its just that Forge might be working, and it gets pretty dangerous when he's working" Scott explained, it wasn't really a lie, some accidents had been caused mainly because of Forge's focus, particularly when it came to the Danger room.

The Colonel shrugged his shoulders before opening the door. Forge's workshop was one of the smallest rooms in the subbasement level. It was also the messiest, countless machines spread out across the floor, tables were starting to look like they would collapsed from the amount of heavy metal machinery placed on them. Fury raised an eyebrow looking at Forge reading a book of some kind, it was a bible. Nick never judged Forge as a religious man; despite his long life Fury didn't actually know much about Apache culture.

"Colonel Fury!" Forge said.

Forge had been crying, his red eyes were the only indication Fury needed. He walked across the room, looking at the junk laid out on Forge's desk. Nick picked up a chest plate that once belonged to the Omega.

"Is this all you have left?" He asked.

"I ripped it apart Fury, the wires and gyros powering it are over there if you want to look at them" Forge said.

Fury walked over to the pile of wires and motors that Forge had dumped to the side. He kneeled down, putting a hand to his chin as he looked over the dismantled equipment. Scott looked at Fury with confusion, whilst Forge merely shrugged his shoulders. The man was a soldier not a tech expert what was he trying to do. Nick got up off the floor, and then looked towards the two mutants.

"That'll be all, I'm sorry for the losses you suffered today" He said before walking out of Forge's shop.

Outside, Xavier was doing his best to maintain his professional composure. Parents either took their child home, or walked with a stretcher to the Morgue. Mothers slapped him, spat on him while fathers looked like they were ready to punch him. But it was always the sight of the body bags that stopped them. Xavier watched as Everett's father clutched the body bag tightly, yelling as tears ran down his face. He would try to offer some word of comfort, but the man merely turned his back, ignoring him completely.

Laurie widened her eyes as a blonde haired woman walked towards Xavier. She threw her hand back and slapped Xavier across the face.

"This isn't a school Xavier…a school is where our children are supposed to be safe, protected, they'll never be safe here…Laurie pack your things your leaving" The woman said, glaring down at Xavier.

Sophia gasped as Laurie put her hands to her chest. Both girls concentrated, trying to keep Laurie's pheromones at bay. Xavier closed his eyes, saying nothing as students hugged and said goodbye to one another. By the end of the day, Xavier would have just a third of his students staying. In the Danger room, Monet slammed her fists into the ground, tears falling onto the floor. Ororo sat inside her garden crying her eyes out.

"Ororo!" A Japanese boy said, walking into the room.

"Shiro, what do you want?" She asked.

"Could I stay with you, I don't really feel like being alone at the moment" Shiro said.

Ororo nodded her head and the boy sat down beside her. She wrapped her arms around him, burying her face into his shoulder. Shiro rested his head on hers, rubbing her hair soothingly. Outside Warren and Hank ran to Xavier as he fell off his chair. The whole day he had spent containing his emotions and for a minute he let those emotions go, banging his hands against the dirt.

"What right do I have to call myself headmaster, when I can't even look after my own students" He said.

Warren and Hank helped their teacher back onto his chair, wiping their eyes as well. There was one more body bag left to attend to. Kitty laid down on her bed, her bag packed nearly packed. The only thing she had left to pack was a picture of herself and Alexis, a blonde haired girl who had been killed during the attack. There was a knock at her door and Kitty half expected her parents to walk through the door.

"Hello Katya!" Piotr said as he walked in.

"Oh hello Peter, are my parents here yet?" She asked.

"Actually they were contacted but they said they would stay in Genosha and carry on their work there, they said it would be better for you if you stayed" Piotr explained.

"Oh man…I must look like an idiot, I just packed all my things before asking whether mom and dad would come" Kitty said chuckling.

"Katya its alright to cry"

"Your not crying" Kitty growled, swinging her head round and widening her eyes.

Tears were falling down the Russians face as he took a step closer. He sniffed, rubbing his eyes as Kitty soon followed him. She removed a handkerchief from her case, wiping her eyes.

"Alexis…no one will come for her, she has no family…just when things were getting better for her this happens!" Piotr sniffed, hanging his head.

"Your wrong you know"

Kitty and Piotr looked to see Bobby standing at the doorway.

"She wasn't alone, she had her friends…you guys haven't been here as long as me, but already you guys are comfortable enough to talk to one another the way a family would…to mourn together" Bobby explained, putting a hand to his eyes. "If you excuse me I think I'd like to be alone" He said.

Piotr and Kitty hugged one another, holding each other tightly as they cried. Sophia stood outside hers and Laurie's room, watching her best friend pack her bags. She crossed her arms, blowing a set of sheets off the bed.

"Sophia, why did you do that?" Laurie asked.

"You know why, this pisses me off Laurie are you just going to do whatever your mom tells you, I thought we were friends"

"You are my friend Sophia and I really don't want to go but my mom said"

"GOD DAMN IT LAURIE!" Sophia screamed, the wind blew furiously, ripping the posters off the wall. "Aren't you upset, aren't you angry with your mother for not understanding…we're mutants Laurie we will never be safe out there, this is the only alternative to some camp, are you really that Naïve, or are you just selfish, we lost our friends today and have you shed one tear for them?"

"I want to really but if I…" Laurie paused as blue mist began to rise from her body. "I don't want to make anyone even more upset with my pheromones, so I keep it all inside…that's why I have to get out of here for just a few minutes just to let it all out, I don't want to make anyone sad" She sniffed.

Laurie hugged her shoulders, falling to her knees as she let the tears fall onto the carpet. The girl's mother looked into the room and lowered her head. She loved her daughter, and she wanted to ensure that she was safe. But sometimes she forgot that what her little girl needed were her friends. Morph flew into Laurie's room, wrapping his arms around both her and Sophia. He closed his eyes, a single tear falling from his cheek.

* * *

Karl opened his eyes, if you could call them that. He got off the chair he had been put on; it was like the chair he would see at his local dentist. Looking around the room, Karl sighed for everything was clear, no targeting monitors, just grey. He was colour blind after all and preferred seeing the world in black and white as opposed to the red he saw as a Sentinel. But something felt strange, he felt heavier than before. He turned his head and widened his eyes in utter horror at what he sat looking back at him. His head was metal, or some kind of alloy. It was completely shapeless, no face or mouth merely sockets for his human eyes. He looked at the rest of his body, it was like a metallic skeleton, except he had no ribcage just a metal chest and belly, and his hands were thick, composed of four fingers. This was what Xavier's friend had done to help him. He put his hands to his eyes and yelled out.

Forge and Scott ran into the room, sighing as they saw that Karl had woken up.

"IS THIS WHAT YOU'VE DONE TO HELP ME!" Karl yelled, lunging at Forge.

Cyclops lifted his glasses up, firing a blast into Karl's chest and slamming him into a wall.

"Ah good, the material's I synthesized are harder than steel at least" Forge said.

"I thought you said that you would help me, what have you done to help?" Karl asked hysterically.

"Well I took the major organs that had been put into that old shell and inserted them into another shell, I downloaded the data on old microchips onto new ones whilst deleting the old programming…"

"Don't bullshit me on this, why am I not human again?"

Cyclops lowered his head while Forge sighed.

"Karl, you'll never be human again, the only way to have taken young Lungs, heart, and brain out of your body would have been to dissect it, in a sense you were dead when whoever did this to you did it to you" Forge explained.

"No way, you're lying, I had flesh on my face when I was a Sentinel"

"It felt like flesh and looked like it too, but it wasn't, I'm trying to synthesize more of that tissue but for now your going to have to make do with what you've got now but I promise you Karl I'll find a way to make you look human on the outside I just need time" Forge said.

Karl lowered his head, thinking logically. Forge was a genius but he couldn't just create something from thing air. He needed materials, and time to gather those materials and create what he needed. The former child nodded his head as Forge patted his shoulder.

"Now you'll need something to protect your eyes, here!" Forge said.

The inventor put a mask into Karl's hand. It was a simple plate with lenses that would cover Karl's eyes. He put the mask on his face, surprised at it actually stuck to his face. Karl figured it used magnets of some kind.

"What should I do in the mean time?" Karl asked.

"Stay here, we'll send someone to talk to you once we've sorted our own students out, don't let anyone see you…we've managed to calm Alison down and we don't want anyone panicking or trying to attack you so please stay here" Cyclops said.

Karl lowered his head but then thought of the logic. He wouldn't be making friends with any of the students any time soon. But then he thought of another issue.

"What about my parents?" He asked.

Cyclops looked to Forge and nodded his head before walking out of the workshop.

"Son…your parents have been reported as missing people, when we've sorted our own problems out we'll search for them okay" Forge said.

Disappeared, but how?

* * *

As the sun went down, Xavier began to address the remaining students.

"I know that today is a dark day, and I'm afraid I must give you all even worse news…none of us will be allowed to attend the funerals of your fellow students, but we will bury one student here on school grounds…Alexis Princeton was many things, a dedicated student, a steadfast friend and a girl who never let anything break her, even as things got worse she smiled and looked to a future of hope, her loss and the loss of many students has left a hole in this place that can never be filled, but we will move forward….we have to move forward" Xavier explained, containing his tears as best he could. "For the remainder of the week you can all have time off, feel free to do whatever you wish, I will be here to talk with everyone of you…we will have Alexis's funeral in two days"

That was all that was said at the assembly, for every student merely wished to grieve in their own way, and for some of them that meant going to their beds. Sage began to dial a number into her phone. She had discovered a New Mutant, but logically the X-men and Xavier couldn't go because of their emotional state. So she decided to call the one X-man who wasn't at the mansion.

* * *

He had stopped his bike at a gas station when he got the call. Lazily, the Canadian answered his cell phone.

"Sage…I just read in the papers what happened, were any of the X-men killed?" The man asked gruffly.

"No Wolverine, but they are incapable of responding to a new mutant signature due to their emotional state, the child is female, Asian descent, aged 14 approximately 4 foot five, her location varies but I will text you the girls adopted parents address so you can begin your search there, you'd best hurry Wolverine as the girl was severely stressed when her powers manifested" Sage explained.

Logan grunted before hanging up and not even a second later he received the girl's home address via text. He couldn't help but chuckle, just when he was getting used to the boredom he's given an even boring task. Student recruitment, that wasn't what he did, what he did may not have been pretty but it kept him entertained. Still the X-man known as Wolverine climbed onto his bike and set off for the last place he thought he would go to, Beverly Hills.

Next Chapter 6: Jubilation

* * *

**Proto-Omega Database Update**

**Remaining targets:**

**Charles Xavier**

**Sage**

**Sean Cassidy**

**Scott Summers**

**Jean Grey**

**Robert Drake**

**Henry McCoy**

**Warren Worthington 3rd**

**Forge**

**X-men:**

**Samuel Guthrie**

**Alison Blaire**

**Barnell Bohusk**

**Piotr Rasputin**

**Lorna Dane**

**Remaining students/targets:**

**Julian Keller**

**Katherine Pryde**

**Sofia Montega**

**Laura Collins**

**Joshua Foley**

**Joshua Guthrie**

**David Alleyne**

**Noriko Ashida**

**Shiro Yoshida**

**Ororo Munroe**

**Kevin Sydney**

**Virgil Wallace**

**Monet St. Croix**

**Maxwell Jordan**

**Kevin Ford**

**Remy Lebeau**

**Kurt Wagner**

**John Proudstar**

**Remaining students alive relocated**


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

* * *

The Dream we share

Chapter 6: Jubilation

Jubilation Lee had spent most of her young life with adoptive families. Time and time again they would abandon her because of her attitude and constant thrill seeking. If she wasn't stealing things at the mall she was causing ruckuses at school. Most of the time it was because she didn't do homework or hit someone else. Lately she had punched a few bows for calling her cute. Considering her height and childish facial features most people considered her cute. But she was also starting to go through puberty and in a few years most people predicted she would become an attractive girl, her chest was already beginning to develop. The black haired Asian girl sat in her room, wearing her usual pink top and blue jeans. She was listening to one of her favourite bands, the Black-eyed peas, bopping her head up and down to the beat of Boom Boom. Five families had taken her and abandoned her, but this couple seemed different. They weren't Asian like the last few families she had been through. And unlike the other few families she had they were actually quite cool. Whenever she got into trouble at school they would never yell or punish her.

"She's just being a teenager" Her adoptive father would say.

There was a knock at her door and slowly she paused her Ipod and opened the door. Her adoptive father was a gentle looking man in his fifties, a little bit overweight but the man was going to the gym more often.

"Hey Jube, Sarah burnt our dinner, what do you say to going down to the steak house tonight?" He asked.

"Only if you eat something light dad" Jubilee said with a grin.

"All right, get your coat then meet us down stairs"

Jubilee nodded her head and watched the man she called father walk down the stairs. Everything was different; things were finally starting to get better. She walked towards her wardrobe and pulled out her favourite yellow coat. Putting the coat on, Jubilee then walked over to her Ipod. But much to the girls shock as soon as she touched the machine it blew up in a small flash of light. The pieces of the Ipod scattered across the floor, causing Jubilee to look at her hands in shock.

"Jubilee we're waiting!" Her mother called.

Despite Jubilee being an outdoor girl she had watched enough TV to know what happened to mutants. She couldn't tell her parents; they would throw her out without any form of hesitation.

* * *

He hated this, sitting around doing nothing whilst others outside were doing things useful. Despite the gadgets that Forge had in his workshop it was so boring spending every hour of the day there. But then again was he capable of being bored? He was more machine than human now, so did the human emotions truly apply to him? Karl shook his head, trying to get those kinds of thoughts out of his brain. He could still think so as far as he knew he could still feel emotions. Karl leant back on his seat, he had already been through ten games of solitaire on Forge's computer and he had gotten the high score in minesweeper in game.

'Maybe I should do something useful' Karl thought.

He clicked on the Internet explorer and came to Forge's home page. It was a sight on the school, with its own search engine.

'X-search…I don't know how to react to that…except search for X-men' If Karl had a mouth he would have grinned as he typed in X-men on the search engine.

After a moment of loading multiple images and articles appeared on the screen. Some of the articles included "Who are the X-men?" "Nuclear disaster averted!" "X-man wanted for murder!" The image that caught his eye was a photo of Xavier with the first five X-men. Each of the original members were wearing the same black and yellow costume, they even had cowls to cover their cafes. He clicked on the article titled "Nuclear disaster averted". Karl remembered this incident well; reports stated that a powerful mutant had broken into a military base that had stored a large number of nuclear rockets. Though one was launched it apparently malfunctioned and exploded in midair. But according to later investigations it was Jean Grey using her advanced telekinetic abilities to blow the missile up from the inside. All the staff had been knocked out, leaving Hank to save the day with his hacking skills. The Beast saved the world from a nuclear war.

'But who was responsible for it in the first place?' Karl wondered.

"That's a question that's haunted us since the day we formed, I don't even think the Professor knew"

Karl swung his chair round to see Jean standing in front of him.

"I'm sorry!" Karl said.

"Your going to be saying that a lot and it won't cut it I'm afraid" Jean said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I know…god I remember everyone of them, in graphic detail…and the problem is you guys might be able to read surface thoughts but you cant manipulate those thoughts can you/" Karl asked.

"Your mind is different Karl, its kind of like a friend of ours, the bonds that connect your memories together have been severed whilst others have been replaced to make room for battle plans and blocks against telepathy…so as a result we cant manipulate your mind or fit the pieces of your memories together, even quite forgetful people leave the bonds that connect their memories intact, for example Alison and Bobby have no idea what happens when they get drunk, but a quick mind read and we know every detail of their night…they both end up singing on stage together" She whispered with a giggle.

"You don't pry into people's minds all the time do you?"

"Of course not, Xavier encourages privacy here so he sets mental blocks in peoples minds, others are incapable of having their minds read or manipulated by telepaths, either because of their genes or…"

"What?"

"They're insane!"

"You don't have anyone like that here do you?" Karl asked.

"Oh god no…at least I hope not" Jean muttered.

"Oh…well don't you have somewhere to be?"

"Charles has put me in charge of talking to everybody, making sure they're okay and helping them deal with the grief, we don't need to get S.H.I.E.L.D therapists involved, not everybody who looses a friend needs a shrink, just another friend to help them through it" Jean explained, taking a seat beside Karl.

Karl got off his chair and walked across the room.

"You aren't my friend Jean, no one here will accept my friendship or offer me friendship in return, it sounds cruel but it's the reality of the situation…no it's the reality of the whole FUCKING WORLD!!!" Karl yelled, slamming his fist against the wall. "NO ONE WILL FORGIVE A MURDERER! IT DOESN'T MATTER WHETHER THEY WERE INSANE OR NOT THEY WILL NEVER BE FORGIVEN!!! Do you know what I've done for the past few hours other that play solitaire, I've gone through hundreds of possibilities and not one of them ends in me being a good person, in my parents missing me…I was just another selfish human, but now I'm a machine, flawless only in design"

He smashed his fist against the wall repeatedly, leaving a dent. Jean put her hand to her mouth as Karl's fist was cracked and squashed like a tin can. Oil dripped onto the floor as he turned to face the telepath.

"So don't come here to me and tell me that things will get better because they wont…please just leave me alone" Karl whispered as he leant his head against the wall.

Jean nodded her head before turning her back and walking out of the workshop. On the other side of the door stood Cyclops.

"Well how is he?" Scott asked.

"As we expected him to be, how soon until Forge has that new body made?" Jean asked.

"A week, looks like we'll have to keep him here for a few days" Scott said.

"He's bored Scott, we should give him something to do"

"I know Jean but right now with everyone else grieving I'm afraid we cant just give Karl a movie to watch, who knows whether he'd really enjoy it"

"Scott…he's still human!"

Scott looked at the girl for a moment before nodding his head. When he really though about it, Karl was still a human who felt guilty about a crime he committed.

* * *

Logan sighed as he rode through the streets of Beverly Hills. He'd been to the city once and didn't find anything of value. At least not something that could piece his scattered memories together. Now he was looking for a new mutant.

'What kind of name is Jubilation anyway?' Logan wondered gruffly.

The Canadian pulled up to Jubilee's house and walked up to the door. After waiting a few seconds for the door to be answered he took a sniff at the ground. The three people who lived at this house had gone out for an evening judging from the mother's perfume and father's aftershave. They had no car, so they would be walking to their destination. Another sniff at the ground informed Logan of the arrival of someone else standing at the porch just minutes after the family had left.

'Definitely not a teenager, maybe a neighbour looking for the parents' Logan thought.

But Logan quickly widened his eyes, as he smelt a second scent. It was one he was all too familiar with. With a growl he got up off the floor, squeezing his hands together, trying not to pop his claws out. He didn't want to be there, but if that girl died at the hands of his enemy he would never forgive himself. Running to his bike, Logan revved the engine and dashed down the road as fast as he could.

* * *

Jubilee was finally settled and happy. Whatever she was getting it was under control. Her parents didn't need to know about it. Putting what happened to her Ipod at the back of her mind, Jubilee enjoyed her steak and laughed as her father talked about what he and his construction friends got up to when their boss wasn't looking. Life was good, whatever she was becoming she would deal with that when the time came. Right now she would enjoy a night out with her family. The atmosphere at the steak house was pleasant as usual.

"Hello sirs, what can I do for you?" The waiter at the door asked as four men walked into the room.

All of the men were dressed in black business suits and walked with serious expressions across their faces.

"Official S.H.I.E.L.D. business son, stay out of our way" The leader said, flashing a badge and walking into the room.

One of the men pulled a device from his pocket and held it out. It beeped for a moment before detecting its target.

"Over there sir, the girl with the yellow coat on her chair" The young man said, pointing towards Jubilee's table.

Jubilee tensed as the men looked at her table. They looked like the government type, something her father ignored since he didn't really like the government. The leader of this group nodded to his men and took a step forward before the bell at the door rang, signalling the arrival of a new customer. All conversations in the restaurant stopped as two hands clapped together. Its once cheery atmosphere was gone as every one's eyes turned to the new customer. He had a grin across his face that many found a bit too feral. His short black hair had sideburns forming into a beard on his chin, he was also tall and Jubilee could tell there was a strong build underneath the mans thick brown coat. An odd thing that many people saw was the mans nails, they looked like they hadn't been cut for a week.

"I gotta say for a moment you almost had me fooled with the look, but the mistake you made was pulling out the tech…you see S.H.I.E.L.D. agents would have known that the new mutant was an Asian, they're the government after all" The man explained, chuckling as he took a few steps forward.

One of the men pulled a pistol from his coat, causing the people inside the restaurant to gasp or scream in one woman's case. They either put their hands to their eyes or hid underneath tables. But Jubilee as well as he parents and a few others remain focused on the scene in front of them. The stranger showed no fear as the agent aimed the gun at his forehead. His smile simply widened.

"I'm guessing…some mutant hating band, or maybe AIM, no I know now…Hydra!"

As soon as those words came out of the mans mouth a bullet flew from the barrel of the gun, piercing his head and sending him falling to the floor. The agent grunted before turning his back.

"So, are we gonna grab the…" The agent opened his mouth, blood gushing out of it as he was lifted off the floor.

The other agents drew their weapons and aimed at the stranger as he dropped the dead agent to the floor. His nails had grown longer and sharper, resembling the claws of a wildcat. Blood had stained his hands; he had stabbed the agent in the back. But it wasn't the murder that shocked Jubilee, it was the feral man, the bullet popped out of the hole in his head and in seconds flat the wound disappeared, not even a scar was left.

"Another reason why you people aren't S.H.I.E.L.D. you'd know that there's no choice but to run when you're against Sabretooth!" The man laughed as the other men shook in fear.

Jubilee widened her eyes, realising that these four men were after her. It seemed the time to learn about her parent's views on mutation was closer than she thought.

Next Chapter 7: Wolverine vs. Sabretooth

* * *


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

* * *

The Dream we share

Chapter 7: Wolverine vs. Sabretooth

Jubilee watched in horror as the feral man known as Sabretooth jumped at the Hydra agents. He slashed at them with his claws, lifting two of them off the floor. With a grin he banged their heads together, knocking them out. But he wasn't done yet; again and again he smashed their heads together. The commander fell to the floor, crawling back in shock as Sabretooth continued to bang the two agents heads together. He completely crushed their skulls, squashing their heads and sending their blood dripping across the floor. Sabretooth took a step forward and threw one of the bodies onto a nearby table, laughing as the woman sitting there screamed at the sight of the agent's squashed face. He dropped the other body to the floor, walking towards the commander.

"You people act all tough but when it comes down to it your just a group of cowards crawling away, Hyena's looking for easy prey, but me I'm a lion KING OF THE FUCKING JUNGLE!!!" Sabretooth yelled, continually smashing his boot into the mans neck so hard that the bone shattered.

Sabretooth skulked towards Jubilee's table, licking his lips as he looked at the girl.

"What the hell do you want with my family?" Her father asked, stepping in Sabretooth's way.

"Just the girl tubs, she's got quite an explosive mutant ability, my employers are actually quite interested in seeing what she can do" Sabretooth said.

"You're not touching my daughter!"

A grin spread across Sabretooth's mouth as the man looked at him defiantly. Jubilee gripped her fork tightly as Sabretooth extended his claws. With one quick movement of his hand, Sabretooth cut the mans throat open. Jubilee screamed as her father fell to the floor coughing. Sabretooth then grabbed her mother by the neck, throwing her hair back to expose her throat. He dug his teeth into her neck, ripping off the flesh and leaving her to bleed. Jubilee looked at her two parents, bleeding on the floor.

"Run Jubilee!" Were her father's last words.

But she was too shocked to even move as Sabretooth picked her up off the floor. He banged her head against the table, knocking her unconscious. Sabretooth huffed at how insultingly easy the mission had been, hopefully his boss would have a more interesting job later. As Sabretooth carried Jubilee out of the restaurant an older man waited at the door of a black limo.

"I knew we should have sent Ferguson for this" He said, opening the door.

"Ah keep it down I got the job done didn't I? Besides the place has good steak, I think I'll stay a while" Sabretooth grinned.

"No, we need to return to the base, reports say that Weapon X is on his way" The man said, dumping Jubilee in the back seat.

"I'll take care of Wolverine" Sabretooth said before walking into the restaurant.

The man shook his head as the people within the restaurant began to scream. He got into the car and drove off, leaving Sabretooth to his prey.

* * *

Logan parked his bike beside the steak house; this was where Jubilee and her parents had gone. Getting off his bike he sniffed at the air, the smell of blood had partially blocked Jubilee's scent. He concentrated, blocking out the smell of blood. Sabretooth was still here; he had given Jubilee to an unknown, who drove off from there. He could follow the trail, but right now he needed to make sure Sabretooth wouldn't follow. Walking into the restaurant, Logan showed no surprise or shock at the sight that welcomed him. Sabretooth sat at a table, drinking beer and chewing on a bone. The bones of every person that had been in the restaurant were set out around him. Some were still alive, but beyond help as Sabretooth had slashed and stabbed their internal organs.

"You're a sick man Creed!" Logan growled.

"I'm a fucking animal, its just nature runt, besides the people in here weren't angels, like this girl I just ate…she tasted like a slut…I'm very familiar with their taste if you know what I'm talking about" Sabretooth chuckled, flashing his feral grin.

Logan grinded his teeth together and popped out his claws.

"Oooh shiny, lets not make this too quick shall we, the boss needs some time with the girl"

With those words, Logan jumped forward, practically flying into Sabretooth and stabbing his claws into his chest. The two wild men rolled across the floor, breaking apart tables and staining their clothes on the puddles of blood. Sabretooth threw Wolverine into the wall, ignoring the three holes in his chest. Wolverine kicked Sabretooth across the head, and then stabbed him in the chest. Merely shrugging off the pain, Sabretooth slashed Wolverine in the face, tearing off pieces of his skin. He then grabbed him by the collar of his jacket and threw him across the restaurant. Wolverine slammed into the wall, creating a giant crack that ran across the ceiling. Getting up off the floor, Logan huffed and growled.

"Come on runt, don't tell me that's all the anger you've got in you…I mean I just ate a restaurant of people, these ten skeletons you see on the floor, that aint even half of the people I killed, the rest had tasty bones too"

Wolverine yelled and ran at Sabretooth. He ducked underneath a swing of the taller mans arm, stabbing his armpit. Sabretooth cringed for a moment before head butting Wolverine. Both mutants stepped back before recovering and slashing one another across the face, exposing their metallic skulls. Then they slashed each other's chests and clashed their claws together. Sabretooth swung his arm forward, punching Wolverine across the room. He landed on a table, splitting it apart with his weight. Jumping to his feet, Wolverine vertically slashed Sabretooth's face, and then elbowed the wound. Sabretooth clutched his face for a moment before grabbing Wolverine by his hair; he swung him round, hammer throwing him through the wall and into the restaurants kitchen.

* * *

Karl sat in Forge's workshop, throwing aside his fourteenth crossword puzzle. The genius inventor was giving the students something to do by overseeing a danger room session while Jean was probably receiving comfort from Scott.

'Now there has to be something going on between those two, they seem to close to be just ordinary friends' Karl thought, looking at how close Scott and Jean were in the school photos.

In every photo they were right next to each other, practically touching one another. But Karl merely shrugged it off; they had been teammates for years so it was only natural that a relationship started between the two. He had already counted the tiles on the ceiling five times, maybe he could count the dust particles.

'God damn you Forge, you couldn't make a video game or something could you' Karl thought with a shake of his head.

His eyes suddenly widened as the door opened. Two girls walked into the room, both healthy girls aged either sixteen or eighteen. Karl blinked; usually he would have identified the brown haired one as extremely attractive and the nervous blonde haired girl as cute but not his type. They looked at him with confusion across their faces.

"Who are you and where is Forge?" The brown haired girl asked.

Wait, this girl didn't know who he was? If Karl had a mouth he would have smiled, he didn't need to worry about people panicking every time they saw him. But surely his name had gone around the school; he needed to really think about what he would say to the two girls.

"Greetings I am assistant android X-719, I am afraid Master Forge is currently occupied overseeing a training session in the danger room, is there anything I can do to help you girls?" Karl asked.

The name and cover just came to him, he didn't even have any doubt whether the story would be believed or not. But thankfully there was no sign of suspicion in the two girls body language.

"Ah, I'm Sophia and this is my friend Laurie…we were just going to ask Forge if he could fix this Ipod?" The brown haired girl asked.

"Does it belong to you Miss Sophia?" Karl asked.

"No, it belongs to Alexis, a girl that was killed in the attack" Laurie said.

Karl lowered his head for a moment, he remembered shooting the girl as she tried to run away. Taking the Ipod from Sophia's hand, Karl walked over to Forge's worktable. He picked up a screwdriver and unscrewed the cover, now he saw the problem. The copper wire connecting the play button mechanism was broken. He used some scrap copper wire and put it in the copper wire. Then he melted the copper onto the chip and pushed the play button. Suddenly Save Tonight by Eagle Cherry began playing.

"That was Alexis's favourite song" Sophia said as Karl listened to the track.

He pressed the stop button and put the ipod back together. Giving the Ipod to Sophia, Karl turned his back.

"Was there anything else you wanted?" Karl asked.

"No thank you X, thank you for this, Alexis would like this to be played at her funeral, it always cheered her up" Sophia explained.

"That's good…. and the other students?"

"Their families are having their funerals away from the mansion, though Monet was able to talk Everett's parents into letting her go to his funeral" Laurie said.

"Okay, so when is Alexis's funeral?" Karl asked.

"In a week, we'll be playing some songs off her Ipod at her wake"

"Where will her family be?"

"She doesn't have one, grew up on the streets until she was taken in by Xavier, we became her family" Sophia said.

Karl stood there awkwardly wondering when the two girls would leave. He realised they were being friendly but he did make it clear he was only an "assistant android". Then again he did keep them here with his questions, maybe they really wanted a place away from all the other students.

"If you want to you can stay, but I am not the best of company" Karl said.

"Oh that's okay, we just need to get away from Julian, I cant believe that asshole" Sophia huffed, taking a seat alongside Laurie.

"What has he done?"

"Nothing and that's exactly the point, no crying or shedding tears…he even tried asking me out" Sophia growled.

"I'm not familiar with human concepts of mourning but I do understand that individuals take their own approach to it, perhaps bottling up his feelings is his way of coping with the grief" Karl explained.

Sophia thought for a moment and understood the androids logic. Maybe Julian really was upset and just needed something to entertain himself in order to cope.

"Yes but he should still show some respect for the dead" Laurie said.

"True, you should show some respect but keep in mind that grief can be a powerful thing…it can drive people insane, so people take their own approach in order to cope, some people talk, others keep themselves distracted and that's okay, others just cry their heart out and that's okay too because that's how they deal with their grief, its only human and that's exactly what you are…so cry if you want to, talk about the people you've lost, I can listen" Karl explained.

Karl sat with Laurie and Sophia, listening to them talk about every person he had killed. The least he could do was know what kind of people he had taken from this world.

* * *

Logan coughed as he got off the floor, he really needed to end this fight before Jubilee's scent was lost. He looked to his side and grinned. Turning the knobs on the gas cookers and hobs, Logan breathed in the gas for a moment before turning towards Sabretooth. The taller man was already on all fours crawling towards him. They jumped at one another, smashing their heads together. Sabretooth grabbed Wolverine's wrist, cutting into his veins and throwing him into the bar. Wolverine shook the beer and wine out of his hair and jumped over the bar, kicking a chair at Sabretooth. But the super strong mutant easily smacked the wooden chair aside, slashing at Wolverine. Logan took the strike, using the force of a head butt to push Sabretooth back.

"Clocks ticking runt, who knows what'll happen to the girl, maybe she'll be executed or maybe the boss will get what he wants from her" Sabretooth said.

The two mutants walked in a circle around one another, growling and in Sabretooth's case actually roaring. With a yell, Logan slashed Sabretooth across the chest. He then stabbed him in the shoulder and quickly pulled his claw out to slash his face. Sabretooth swung his arm at Wolverine, but the nimble fighter easily dodged the punch and countered with an elbow to Creed's face. He jumped up, kicking Sabretooth twice across the head, and then stabbing him in the lungs. Creed gasped for breath for just a moment before grinning.

"Come on runt we've don't this long enough to figure out that…" But Sabretooth's words were interrupted as Logan head butted him.

Again and again Logan crashed his head against Sabretooth's until both their skulls were exposed. Logan swung Sabretooth around, turning his back to the kitchen. Wolverine rolled backwards, retracting his claws and throwing Sabretooth into the kitchen. The bigger man slammed his head into the oven and cringed as he sniffed at the air, the kitchen stunk of gas. Logan took out his matchbox, with one match left it seemed that he wouldn't be having any cigars for a while. Lighting the match, Wolverine smirked as he threw it into the kitchen.

"Oh fuck" Was Victor's final words before the kitchen was consumed in a ball of fire.

Logan walked away from the slowly burning steak house. Creed was far from dead, he'd be back but right now Logan needed to focus on saving the girl. Her scent was still fresh, so he could follow that back to the kidnappers base. He reached into the pack on his bike, removing his black and grey costume. Logan smiled; he had a much brighter costume for his time with the X-men, which wasn't very often considering he was a part time member. Tonight he wouldn't be fighting as Wolverine the X-man, but Wolverine the black ops agent. It was time for him to do what he did best, and what he did wasn't pretty.

Next Chapter 8: Rescue

* * *


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I dont own X-men

* * *

The Dream we share

Chapter 8: Rescue

Xavier rolled through the corridors of the mansion, looking over his remaining students. He knew every single one of them by name and face; he had no difficulty in figuring out who was staying. In all Twenty five students had decided to stay and Charles had a feeling that despite the Sentinel incident anti mutant sentiment would rise and more orphans would be coming to the mansion. He lowered his head as he saw Vanessa looking at a picture of herself and her boyfriend Wade. Xavier knew that it was only a matter of time before the students found out about Karl, and he didn't need to be psychic to know that Vanessa would leave. Wade was another boy who didn't have parents, at least not parents who cared. He grew up on the streets, learnt to look out for himself until Xavier found him.

"Yes the Sentinel was indeed destroyed sir…no sir we are not hiding information from your office"

Charles rolled into his office to see Sage talking on the phone. Shaking his head he put his hand out and Sage immediately put the phone in his hand.

"Colonel Moss, I would appreciate you not calling my office this week…my students have been through enough trouble without your department causing them more grief, my X-men do not need your help, we are already conducting our own investigation and when we find who was responsible for this tragedy I assure you they will be turned over to the proper authorities" Xavier explained, slamming the phone back onto its hook.

With a stressed sigh, Xavier rolled to his desk, going through a draw and pulling out a miniature version of Cerebro.

"Where their any new signatures discovered?" Xavier asked Sage.

"Yes, a girl called Jubilation Lee, I sent Logan to investigate" Sage said.

"What…Sage Logan is not a recruiter, you should have told me"

"Logically you would have been incapable of recruiting students in your current state, Logan is all that is needed to deal with any threat that may occur" Sage explained.

"That's why your no fun at parties" Sean said from the doorway.

"Your wrong about Logan Sage he isn't invincible…but I'll let him handle this, right now I believe there is at least something in the world my X-men can do" Xavier said as he put on his helmet.

Xavier sighed, thankfully there had been no new mutant activity. Although he did detect a signature at Stark Tower, though it had only been for a few seconds. He instead focused on this girl Jubilee, it seemed that she was using her powers right now.

* * *

Jubilee couldn't stop crying, her parents were dead and she was in the arms of full-grown military men. They pinned her to the ground, holding her wrists tightly and pointing them at the wall. She felt the barrel of a gun press against the back of her head.

"Use your powers!" A voice behind her growled.

"I…I don't know how" She whimpered.

"You've got six seconds to figure out how"

As the man counted down, Jubilee began to focus on the feelings she felt when she was at home. She felt excited when she used her powers, so she decided to focus on something that excited her. It was a thought that filled her with hope; if she were a mutant then the X-men would definitely come. She always liked the X-men; the thought of being a super hero, having the respect of everyone around you was something she found appealing. Her hands suddenly lit up, a beam shot out of her hands, slamming into the wall with a bang that sounded like a firework. The man behind her whistled and Jubilee sighed with relief, as she no longer felt the gun pressed against her head.

The soldiers kept her pinned to the ground, but she did hear someone type numbers into a phone. It was the man that had threatened her with the gun. He paced around the room, tapping his finger against the side of the phone impatiently.

"Put me onto the director please" He said.

For a moment the man waited, then his attention was focused on the phone. He was listening to someone, he took a sharp breath and grinded his teeth together.

"I'm sorry sir, but Hydra's involvement was unexpected, I'll see to it that they no longer interfere…yes sir I'm well aware of his presence, onto the subject of the girl the Professor was right, she has some explosive power, with enough training she could become a valuable agent…involving the Professor may not be necessary, the girl isn't Weapon X…very well, also on the subject of the X-man, should we kill him?"

The man threw the phone against the wall, stomping his foot into the ground.

"What did the director say?" One of the soldiers asked.

"Said we could try to kill him, Jenkins, Walters you cover the outside, Garrick guard the girl, if he comes here we'll be ready for him" The Commander said.

Night had passed and two soldiers awaited the arrival of their enemy. One was hidden amongst debris and garbage, his rifle armed and ready. The other was on the rooftop, clad in full armour with his assault rifle ready. One on the roof sniping, and one on the ground waiting to ambush him. They were professionals, but still no problem. Wolverine sniffed and smirked, only two soldiers to deal with him. This would be too easy.

* * *

Forge had too much junk lying around his workshop; it was enough junk for Karl to use himself. In another attempt to pass the time he decided to build his own computer, he had enough circuit boards and microchips and an old keyboard and TV set. When he was human Karl never once thought that a computer could be so simple to build when you had the right parts. Of course he didn't have any programs so he needed to steal them from the memory unit of Forge's computer. He'd put it back in; right now he just needed to see how far his intelligence had been increased. Bringing up an exam paper. This was MIT level and he was answering the questions in seconds. If the question weren't right in front of him, he never would have thought of the answers to any of the questions on this paper.

"What are you doing?" A student asked from the doorway.

Karl raised his head, he recognised the black haired student as Julian Kellar, one of the students that tried to kill him. Beside him were his two friends; one was a tall and bulky mutant with rock like skin. The red haired girl with them had metallic skin, which Karl identified as Mercury.

"Oh, I'm looking over papers, testing their difficulty" Karl lied.

"So your Forge's assistant, I suppose you couldn't clear up the mess in this workshop" Julian said as he walked into the workshop.

"I'm not completely sure what items are of value to Forge, what did you want Mr Kellar?" Karl asked, getting up off the floor.

"How do you know my name?" Julian asked.

"Your reputation proceeds you Mr Kellar"

"Well what do you expect, I'm the leader of the coolest squad in school"

"Squad, Forge hasn't yet updated my memory core, what squad would this be exactly?" Karl asked.

"The Hellions, or at least that's what its going to be when our instructor arrives, Xavier hasn't told anyone yet but every student is going to be divided into training squads" Julian explained.

"Isn't dividing the students hypocritical considering the meaning of this school?"

"Your full of questions, I don't know what you've been programmed to think this school is about but I'll tell you one thing, this is a breeding ground…we come here to train and show humanity just how better then them we are by becoming super heroes"

"That's a complete lie!"

Karl turned to the doorway to see two more students; one was a blonde haired boy while the one who spoke was African American, wearing glasses and neater clothes than his friend.

"Alleyne, Foley, what are you losers doing sown here?" Julian asked.

"We came down here to see if this android could help us with my glasses, ever since the attack they've been lose" David said.

"Whoopdy doo, guess what Alleyne, no one cares about your glasses, get contacts!" Julian said, lifting David's glasses off with his TK.

"Put them down Julian" Karl said.

"Sure, I'll drop them in the Danger Room!" Julian said as he flew out of the workshop.

Karl shook his head as the two friends chased after Julian. Mutant powers must have made this school interesting.

* * *

They were on radio silence, keeping their eyes peeled for Wolverine. Jenkins walked across the rooftop, his machine gun at the ready. His night vision gave him away; Logan didn't need heightened sight to see the soldier. Stabbing his claws into the wall, Logan climbed up towards the roof. He sheathed one of his claws, catching the soldier's attention. Jenkins walked towards the edge of the roof aiming his rifle forward. As Jenkins stepped onto the edge of the roof, Wolverine popped his claw out and stabbed the soldier in the foot. The soldier screamed in agony, aiming his rifle at Wolverine's head. But Logan cut the barrel off of the gun, and then grabbed Jenkin's feet, throwing him off the edge of the building. The Soldier's head slammed into the ground, crushing his skull and snapping his neck. Walter's loaded a grenade into the launcher on his rifle, getting up off the floor and walking across the alleyway.

"All right you fucking freak, come and get me!" Walters said.

Logan chuckled as he heard what the soldier said.

"Be careful what you wish for bub!" he said.

With a yell, Logan jumped off of the roof, landing smoothly on his feet and running at Walters. The Soldier fired the grenade, but Logan jumped to the side, the explosion merely threw him back. Walters fired his rifle, hitting Wolverine in the chest. The continua's barrage of bullets ripped the clothes and flesh off of his chest. Falling to the floor Logan closed his eyes. Walters walked over to the body, suddenly; Logan slashed Walters's feet, cutting off his legs. Standing over the helpless soldier, Wolverine stabbed his claws into Walters's head. Sheathing the blades, Wolverine walked towards the warehouse, he immediately knew the best point of entry.

Jubilee looked at the two soldiers, their rifles aimed at the front door. They hadn't heard back from their friends, so Jubilee naturally assumed that whoever was coming to save her had defeated them. The soldiers were scared, whoever this X-man was must have been scary, maybe it was Beast, he'd always been one of Jubilee's favourite original X-men.

"All right, Garrick, get the girl, we're getting out of here" The commander said.

"Yes sir!" Garrick said before walking towards Jubilee.

She didn't struggle, cause she knew that if she struggled then she'd be dead like her parents. Garrick walked the girl into the middle of the room, and then stopped as he heard a tap against the wall. Suddenly, Wolverine crashed through the skylight, his claws landing through Garrick's head. Jubilee screamed as Garrick's body fell on top of her. Logan ran at the commander, growling as he popped out his second set of claws. The Commander aimed and fired his shotgun straight at Logan's head, knocking him to the ground and ripping the flesh off his face. Jubilee threw soldiers body off of her and looked at the man on the ground. He must have been dead, half of his face had been shot off. But Jubilee rethought that statement, rubbing her eyes as skin began to cover the mans skull. Then Jubilee widened her eyes in realization, this mans skull was metal.

"Oh my god, what the hell are you?" The Commander asked, taking a few steps back in total fear as Logan clicked his neck from side to side.

Logan walked over to Garrick's body, examining the equipment. They could have been ex military, or mercenaries. These men were too well equipped for anti mutant extremists and they weren't fighting with enough hate. Wolverine picked up Garrick's knife; it looked like the standard combat knife that marines used.

"What am I? A mutant of course, you shouldn't have taken the girl bub!" Wolverine growled before throwing the knife.

The knife flew into the commander's shoulder, knocking him to the ground.

"I've already killed three men today in a brutal fashion, what do you think I'm gonna do to you if you don't get out of here?" Logan asked.

The Commander yelled as he ran for the door. This was one fight he couldn't win, Logan knew it and he knew it too. Jubilee stared at the X-man in front of her as he walked over to the blood that the commander had left. He sniffed the blood, growling slightly. His hands and his claws were stained with blood and Jubilee could just make out the fragments of bone that the man had taken when he stabbed Garrick. When he popped the claws back into his hands, she finally fainted. Logan shurgged, he had the commanders scent so he'd track him down later. Right now he decided to smoke a cigar and sit and wait for the X-men to arrive.

* * *

David sighed as he and Josh walked around the danger room. They had gotten back David's glasses, but Julian had dropped a screw in the Danger room. And of course the danger room was a huge circular metal room, and a tiny silver screw didn't exactly stand out. So with Morph's help, the two of them got into the Danger Room and started looking.

"Thanks for stretching under the door for us and unlocking it Kevin, I really appreciate it" David said.

"Come on Dave call me Morph" The brown haired shape shifter said with a grin across his face.

The door suddenly opened and both Sophia and Laurie walked into the room.

"Hi guys, we saw you hanging around here, so we thought we'd see what your doing" Sophia lied, flashing a charming smile.

The real reason they were here was because of Laurie. She wanted to help David find his glasses, and also get to know Josh a bit better. Sophia smiled at her friend's nervousness, she liked Josh, and he was after all the schools golden boy. And Laurie was a nice girl; she liked to help people when she could.

"Well, the more to merrier I say!" Morph said, holding a glass monocle over his eye, which caused his friends to blink in confusion.

His clothes suddenly changed into a Sherlock Holmes outfit, complete with a pipe.

"All right Watson's, lets start searching!" He said in a thick English accent before he began walking across the room.

The girls followed his example and kept their eyes on the floor as they searched. David rubbed his forehead in frustration; he didn't want to buy a new pair of glasses. Karl had other ideas; already he was using some of the left over equipment on his Sentinel armour to make a "gift" for David. He could tell that the boy was a nice guy; unfortunately being a scholar was sometimes frowned upon in some high school groups. Xavier's seemed to be no exception. Turning on the blowtorch, Karl began his work.

"How are you doing Laurie? I know you were pretty close to Alexis" Josh said.

"Well, the service should be nice, and I'll never forget her friendship" Laurie said nervously.

Josh nodded his head before looking back at the floor. Laurie bit her lip, she could have made a conversation with Josh but now he was more focused on finding the screw. Karl walked across the corridor towards the Danger Room, knowing that David would be excited and relieved to have a better pair of glasses. When he pushed the button on the door, he widened his eyes. The door had locked itself again. Inside, the students began to stop what they were doing and turn their attention to the walls as the lights began to shine brighter. The X in the centre of the room suddenly glowed a blue colour.

"Okay, that doesn't look too god!" Josh said.

Suddenly, the section of the floor Josh stood on rose up. It was a round platform connected to a mechanical arm on the floor. Multiple parts of the room started to slid open, revealing chain saws and flamethrowers. Sophia flew backwards, avoiding the swipe of a chain saw.

"Ah damn not another glitch in the system!" Morph said, tearing a flamethrower off the wall. "Everybody remain calm, I'll…" But Morph never finished his words as a hammer popped out of the ground and squashed Morph.

Laurie put her hands to her mouth but looked at the hammer in confusion. Instead of a pile of squashed flesh and bone, a white substance like play dough was squashed on the floor. That substance was Morph; his play dough essence couldn't be stabbed or shot, making him virtually unkillable. Of course he still got hurt and knocked out, which unfortunately for the younger students was exactly what he was right now.

"Could somebody shut this thing off!" Josh said as the platform he was on began spinning around.

"I'll get to the control room" David said.

Another cannon popped out of the wall, firing a blast of pressurised air at Sophia. The force sent her flying into David, the two rolling across the floor, coming to a halt as a section of the wall opened. Red armoured androids walked towards the two students. Laurie stepped back, then screamed as a mechanical arm grabbed her.

"LAURIE!!" Sophia yelled, blowing three androids away with her wind.

Karl heard the girls scream from the other side of the door and immediately rushed into the control room. He saw the students fighting for their lives against the Danger Room obstacles. Running to the computer, Karl looked at the controls. He couldn't tell what button would do what, whether he could make the situation worse by randomly pressing buttons or not. But then he realised he needed to calm down; if he didn't act fast the students would die. Analysing the buttons, Karl determined that each keyboard represented a part of the room. At the computers centre was a glowing blue X, which had to have been a master control switch of some kind. Karl immediately slammed his hand against the button. Suddenly, the metallic walls and floor of the danger room disappeared, replaced by a jungle scenery. Josh and Laurie fell from the air, Laurie landed in a pond while Josh landed on a tree trunk. The healer rubbed his crotch, moaning in agony as he rolled off of the branch.

"Is everyone all right down there?" Karl asked over the intercom.

"A little shaken up, thank you X" Sophia said as she helped Laurie up.

"WAIT! WE'RE NOT OKAY!!" Morph yelled as he returned to normal. "Firstly, we're gonna be in deep shit with the baldy and secondly…" Morph paused as he changed into a chalk white version of Josh. "I broke my biscuit, it was so small and the log was so big…. I'M IN AGONY!!!" Morph yelled.

"Ah fuck you Morph!" Josh growled, turning red in embarrassment as the others laughed.

Karl would have smiled if he could, they had just been faced with a life and death situation, and they could still crack a joke. But Xavier was less than pleased when he rolled into the room.

"I cant believe you put yourselves in danger like that, you should have talked to Forge before you tried broke in, you know that your not to go into the Danger Room without permission, quite frankly I expected better of each of you" Xavier said.

"Professor, I'm the senior student, I should have talked them out of it…punish me not them" Morph said.

"You are all good students, I don't need to punish you in order for you to learn, and we are all still grieving, your all forgiven, but please in the future ask me and I will retrieve the screw myself, now how about we get to finding it?" Xavier asked.

"Actually Professor, X here made me some better glasses, these things are amazing, it's feeding me information too" David said, wearing his new orange shades.

"Yeah, that's a part I added!" Karl said.

Forge and Sage both looked at Karl with disapproval in their eyes.

"I told you to stay in my workshop" Forge growled.

"Your intervention saved their lives but had a different program have been on the Holotech then you would have endangered their lives further, your lack of knowledge on the Danger Room could have killed them" Sage said coldly. "In future get myself or Forge" She said as she and Forge walked away.

Karl lowered his head as they walked out of the room. He'd have to go back to the workshop again. Xavier rolled past Karl, rubbing his head.

"Looks like the Professor's felt a new mutant…the X-men will be going out soon" Morph said.

Karl nodded his head, despite their losses, the X-men still needed to carry on their work. Morph patted Karl's shoulder, grinning as he whispered into his ear.

"Thanks for saving our lives…Karl!" He said.

Karl stared at Morph as he walked away, it seemed that Morph was smarter than he looked. The X-men began to gather in the war room, discussing a new mutant that Xavier had detected. Half of them would go to Beverly Hills to pick up Logan and Jubilee while the other half travelled to Mississippi.

"Hey "X"" Forge said as Karl neared the workshop.

"What is it Forge?" Karl asked.

"I'm sorry for what I said, if you didn't do what you did then Laurie and the others would have died and don't mind Sage…she's an Ice Queen, anyway Xavier wants you to come with him to retrieve a new X-men member" Forge explained, giving Karl a hat and coat. "I still haven't finished your new body, I've got the materials but it'll take time, meanwhile you should get out of here, Xavier's going to need someone to go with him, Jean's counselling the students, Sage is on Cerebro duty, I'm building your body and Sean's going to Muir Island to pick up another student"

Karl nodded his head, but he didn't dismiss the issue. Xavier wanted to keep him close; Karl felt that the Professor didn't trust him. Trust wasn't the issue, as Xavier rolled to his car he couldn't help but feel that recruiting Emma Frost wouldn't be as easy as others thought.

Next Chapter 9: The Reavers

* * *


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I dont own The X-men

* * *

The Dream we share

Chapter 9: The Reavers

Karl adjusted the collar of his coat as he got into the drivers seat of Xavier's limo. Putting on his seatbelt Karl started the engine.

"Where to?" He asked.

"Boston Massachusetts!" Xavier said.

"That's a long way sir" Karl said.

"Then we'd better get going" Xavier said casually.

Sighing, Karl drove off of school grounds. He didn't need his cybernetic augmentations to know everything about driving. In fact before he'd been augmented he had been learning to drive. But he couldn't remember whether he had gotten as far as the theory test yet. Xavier seemed to be relaxed despite being in the same car as the one that had murdered and driven away most of his student body. Then again he trained super heroes and destructive mutant children so he must have been prepared to spend a few hours with an Ex-Sentinel.

"Who exactly are we picking up Professor?" Karl asked.

"A young woman named Emma Frost, she was a second generation student of mine and will be coming to the mansion to lead a training squad as well as receive guidance and mentorship from myself as she works towards a teaching role" Xavier explained.

"What's she like?"

Xavier chuckled, he could have gone into the details of why Emma left the mansion but decided to respect her privacy. If Karl really had maintained some emotion he'd probably have the same reaction every other man got when meeting Emma for the first time, minus a certain part of the male anatomy going stiff.

"She's a telepath like myself but also has the ability to change her skin into a diamond substance, personality wise…well she might have changed since she was fifteen"

Karl nodded his head, immediately taking that as a signal of her being a bitch. But then again she might have changed. The rest of the journey was too quiet for Xavier's taste. He knew he couldn't just strike up a conversation with Karl after what he had done. The Professor felt that the best thing to do in this situation was to conduct business as usual. They arrived at a rather prestigious looking mansion, with grounds half the size of the school's. Upon entering the mansion they were greeted by a grey haired man, Emma Frost's butler.

"Hello Professor, it is good to meet you again, I read what happened to the mansion, how are you feeling?" The Butler asked.

"Gradually adapting Kyle, is Emma in?" Xavier asked.

"She's in her office, you know the way right?"

"Yes, don't worry, my assistant and I will find our way up"

Karl looked at his surroundings, yellow walls and white floors; in fact there was a lot of white. Vases, curtains, silver diamond chandeliers, even a white elevator. This Emma Frost woman must have been richer than Xavier she had maids and butlers, most of whom were dressed in white clothes. The elevator stopped at the mansions second floor and both Karl and Charles passed the woman's bedroom. Charles shook his head while Karl blinked in surprise. Lying on the left side of Frost's king sized bed was a young man with sweat on his bare chest. If Karl had a nose he probably would have smelt sex in the room, a lot of sex. They walked to the next room; before Xavier could knock on the door the woman opened it.

Again Karl was faced with surprise, this woman wasn't beautiful, she was porn movie sexy. She wore a white shirt that left her shoulders exposed and revealed plenty of cleavage. The shirt was either very tight or her breasts were very big, Karl figured that it was both. Her blonde hair was short, reaching to her neck while her lips were painted white. She was just nineteen and she had a mansion, servants and an apprenticeship with Xavier.

"Charles darling, I'd ask you to come in and take a seat but it would be a waste of words" Emma said as Xavier rolled into the office.

Karl followed, making sure his collar covered his face, or lack of a face.

"I wont ask how you knew it was me" Xavier said bitterly.

"Oh Charles, I don't need to read your thoughts, I can hear your cheap wheels from a mile away, but the discontent with my taste of men was hard not to pick up" Emma explained, smirking as she poured herself a glass of wine.

"Your love life is no concern of mine"

"There's never a "love" life Charles, I thought he was good in bed, I imagine I could get a better fuck from one of your X-men, chivalry can be a turn on for me"

Charles frowned and rolled closer towards Emma, keeping his mental defences up so that she wouldn't peek into his mind.

"When you live at my mansion, you live by my rules which means as an X-woman you 1 follow the orders you are given unless disobeying those orders will result in the preservation of life or the improvement of mutant and human relations, 2 respect the privacy of your team mates and the students, 3 you leave your lovers here, there will be no sex at the mansion, it is a place of learning, 4 safety and the rights of our students is the priority when you instruct them, you have no right to psychically or physically force or deceive them into action and 5 and this is the rule you must follow above all others otherwise you will be thrown out of the mansion, never will you ever kill!" Xavier explained sternly, especially when he bought up a strict rule of the X-men.

To never kill, that was the X-men's way, which was why they trained to hard so that they didn't have to kill an opponent. Emma listened to those words well and laughed.

"Your house your rules, fortunately I intend to stay at my own house when not on duty, you do have a teleporter correct?" Emma asked.

"There's only one left and his abilities aren't that powerful, looks like you have no choice Emma" Xavier said, crossing his arms.

Emma smiled as she held Charles's arm rests. She looked into his eyes, a seductive smile spreading across her lips. But Charles maintained his serious and fierce gaze. As she pushed him backwards, Karl saw a bit of Charles's true character. Metaphorically he was a man that only tragedy could move. Crippled he may be, but it was his mixture of compassion, humility and wisdom that made him a stronger man than most. When they were within view of the window, Emma stopped and dropped her smile.

"Well Charles, I'm afraid I'll have to de…"

But Emma never got to finish what she had to say as two holes suddenly appeared in her window and two discs devices stuck to Emma and Charles's heads. Karl widened his eyes as Emma fell to the floor and Charles clutched his head. Looking outside, Karl frowned as he saw men in black suits rolling across the floor. Xavier must have been fighting the disruption device and attacking their minds at the same time. Karl looked at the device and judged from the blinking light on the device that if he tried to pull it off it would explode. After a few seconds, Charles slumped and the armed men kicked the door open. Karl heard gunshots and screams, all too familiar sounds for him.

They ran through the mansion, shooting all of Emma's servants. Two of them marched up the stairs, aiming their rifles at Karl as he walked out of Emma's office. The mercenaries fired their weapons, ripping Karl's coat apart as the bullets bounced off his armoured hide.

"Robotic opponent" The mercenary on the right said.

"Switch to beam weaponry" The left mercenary said. "All units, show them what you're really made of" He said through his radio.

The mercenaries cheered as they slammed their hands into their chests. Their clothes ripped, revealing grey armoured skin. Spikes burst out of their back and their masks ripped as their eyes changed to a red colour. One of the mercenaries facing Karl threw his gun aside and aimed the palm of his hand at Karl. His hand suddenly took shape into a cannon that launched a red beam towards Karl. The beam slammed into his chest and threw him out of the window.

He landed in the fountain in front of Emma's mansion with a hole in his chest. The mercenaries looked at his body, lifeless in the water and smirked. Xavier and Emma were carried out of the mansion as a helicopter flew towards the grounds.

"Easiest Three Billion we ever made" The mercenary leader said, crossing his arms as he examined his prisoners.

The man squeezed Emma's breast and the other mercenaries chuckled.

"I figure that the boss would let us have some fun before we take them in" One of them said.

"Lets just get on the chopper first"

The mercenaries climbed into their helicopter and leant their heads back as the pilot prepared to take off. It began to hover off of the ground but a sudden jolt threw them forward.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!!" The Pilot yelled.

The leader poked his head out of the copter and widened his eyes. Karl was still alive, pulling the helicopter downwards. With a burst of strength he slammed the Helicopter multiple times against the ground, breaking the blades and smashing the windows. The mercenaries rolled across the floor, two of them holding their hostages in their arms.

"Damn it, secondary extraction team move in now!" The Commander said.

Karl suddenly ran at the mercenaries, bullets bouncing off his armour. He grabbed one by the arm, slamming his elbow into the mans shoulder.

"Shoulder reinforced with steel, cybernetic opponents hold advantage!" Karl said in a monotone voice.

"Your damn right we've got the advantage" One of the mercenaries said, his hand popping off, a chainsaw blade sliding out in its place.

The other mercenaries ripped off their shirts, revealing cybernetic parts grafted to their flesh. One ripped off the skin of his hand, revealing a cybernetic arm covered in electricity. He swung his fist at Karl, who ducked underneath the blow. Karl countered with an uppercut to the mans chin. Then he rolled to the left, dodging a laser blast from one of the mercenaries. The mercenary with the chainsaw blade slashed at Karl, who leant his head back and easily dodged the blade.

"Calculating course of battle, best strategy made!"

"NO STRATEGY IS GOING TO HELP YOU!!" One of the mercenaries yelled, throwing his rifle aside and changing his left hand into a buzz saw.

The two mercenaries ran at Karl, their motorised blades vibrating as they prepared to strike. They swung their blades horizontally and for a moment Karl stayed still. But at the last second he ducked and the two blades clashed together. The razors on the blades shattered and the two mercenaries stepped back, recovering from the vibration of their blades clashing. Karl then ran at the mercenary in front of him, grabbing his wrist. He elbowed the man in the face, and then elbowed his wrist, tearing the wires on the mercenaries saw. Karl slammed his foot into the mans elbow, and with one quick pull he ripped the mans saw off. Rolling backwards across the floor, he then span around and slashed one of the mercenaries across the throat with the saw blade.

'Oh my god, they're bleeding, dying…it's the only logical option' Karl thought, his widened eyes narrowing as he broke a wound mercenaries neck.

Turning to the other mercenaries, Karl analysed the situation. Four more opponents, one with an electrical weapon, two with firearms and hidden weapons in their cybernetic bodies and their leader, an obvious sight enhancement device on his right eye, a pistol and a submachine gun retrofitted with a launcher for devices used by S.H.I.E.L.D. to disarm psychics. Karl shook his head, shocked by the sudden burst of knowledge. Again he gained knowledge of the best way to deal with them. Rolling to the side he picked up a discarded rifle.

And once again he analysed the weapon, rifle with single shot and burst fire modes. Laser sighting and heart beat sensor, and DNA locked so that only one of the mercenaries can fire; it was the same for all the mercenaries' weapons. He heard the sound of an engine in the distance; they were moving at top speed and would be there in sixty seconds. Killing the mercenaries would take thirty. Throwing the rifle to the ground, Karl ran forward. The mercenary with the electric fist tried to punch Karl. But Karl easily grabbed the fist, electricity running through his armour. He then grabbed the mercenary's face, causing him to scream in agony as electricity flew into his brain. The mercenary's face was burned from the electricity. Throwing his dead opponent to the ground, Karl then grabbed another mercenary's neck, sending the rest of the electricity into him.

"Oh my god, our Intel was wrong, the X-men really do kill!" One of the men said.

"I'm not an X-man!" Karl said coldly, the dead mercenary still had his hand on the rifle handle, alls Karl needed to do was pull the trigger.

He fired a burst of fire, clipping the commander's arm and killing the other mercenary with two shots to the head. Karl suddenly jumped upwards, dodging the incoming van.

"SHIT!!" The driver yelled, crashing straight through the front door of Emma's mansion.

"Surprise attack successfully avoided, five targets in vehicle, beginning counter attack!" Karl said.

"No you don't!" The Commander growled.

He fired two slugs into Karl's head, only knocking him back slightly. Karl shook his head, and then turned to the Commander. The doors at the back of the van clicked, and Karl quickly threw his rifle to the ground underneath the van. As the doors opened, Karl jumped at the Commander, kicking him in the chest so hard that he was thrown to the ground. The doors at the back of the van opened and the mercenaries stepped out. But one of them stepped on Karl's rifle and slipped, falling on the floor. The other three men tumbled over their comrade's body. Karl pulled the device off of Charles's head and threw it to the mercenaries. They widened their eyes in shock before yelling.

The resulting explosion consumed them and the back of the van. Karl then turned his head to the commander. He was stunned, a helpless target. Helpless targets were easy to eliminate. Walking over to the mans body, Karl grabbed the sides of his head.

"No, I cant…all obstacles must be eliminated…it's not moral…it's logical!" He grinded his teeth together as he grabbed the mans chin and hair. "Stop it! STOP IT!!!" He yelled.

Then with one twist he broke the mans neck. Yelling out, Karl ran to the van, he ripped open the door and grabbed the unconscious driver. With one punch he woke the man up. Pulling his fist back he punched the man again, shattering his teeth. He then pulled his fist back again, ready to deliver a punch that would crack the mans skull.

"KARL STOP!!!"

Karl let go of the man and turned to Charles, crawling across the floor with his hand to his head. He was fully prepared to use telepathy in order to stop Karl.

"I'm sorry Professor, I don't know what happened, I just lost myself!" Karl said.

Charles lowered his head and sighed, Karl now had blood on his hands, S.H.I.E.L.D. wouldn't ask questions but the X-men would. A moment later, Emma looked over the remains of her mansion, the corpses of her servants and the single mercenary that had been apprehended. She looked at the dead bodies with a cold expression before turning to the mercenary.

"Now, lets find out where this one came from shall we Charles" Emma said.

"No, we leave his mind be" Charles said.

"What, but Xavier, this man was clearly sent here to kill you, a full scan will tell us exactly who hired him and why, this isn't the time for your morals" Emma explained.

"No Emma, doing such a thing is not necessary nor will it work"

"What makes you think it wont work?" Emma asked.

"These men were equipped with cybernetic implants, not only would they have armed themselves for battle but defences against psychic scans…we wont be able to get anything from this man without hurting him, no, we will leave this to S.H.I.E.L.D. Fury's men are trained for interrogating men like this" Xavier explained.

The Mercenary merely chuckled, looking at the two mutants with an amused expression.

"You didn't think we were the only ones sent to bring you in did you?" He asked.

"Bring us in, what are you talking about?" Emma asked.

Karl then dived at Emma and Charles, pushing them out of the path of a stream of darts. Emma looked up, frowning as her skin changed to a white diamond material. An aircraft flew over the mansion grounds; a pair of miniguns attached to its wings were armed at the group. Karl stepped in front of the Professor, taking a volley of darts fired by the aircraft. Inside the aircraft, platoons of the cybernetic mercenaries were readying their weapons. Leading them were three other mercenaries, one was wearing a grey trench coat, a pair of sunglasses and a purple shirt while the man next to him also had a civilian look, wearing a brown coat that covered his chest. The third man was wearing green military fatigues, he had two cybernetic arms and a visor over his eyes with wires connecting the head gear directly into his brain. Loading a bazooka of some kind, the man opened the side door.

"All right Reavers, show these ass holes what the future is!" He said.

"Yes Skullbuster Sir!!" They said in unison before following the man off of the plane.

They landed on the ground, each one of them creating a crack on the concrete as they landed. Skullbuster fired the device on his bazooka into the air. It was some kind of saucer that spun over Emma, Karl and Xavier. Suddenly, darts rained down on the three of them. Karl raised his hands, protecting Charles from the showed while the other darts harmlessly bounced off of Emma's body. She swung her fist forward, punching one of the Reavers in the head. Karl also tried to strike out at their opponents, but they easily threw him to the ground.

"PROFESSOR!!!" Karl yelled.

One of the Reavers slammed the palm of his hand into Xavier's head. When he removed his hand, a disruptor disc had attached itself to Charles's head. Karl ran forward, tackling the Reaver, and then he pulled his fist back and punched the Reaver's head into the ground.

"Stack, D, shoot the bitch now!" Skullbuster ordered over the radio.

The man with the sunglasses nodded his head, grabbing a net launcher and taking aim at Emma. She punched another Reaver in the face, then knocked another across the ground. Stack fired the net, covering Emma and pinning her to the ground. Skullbuster then removed a syringe from his hand and stabbed it into Emma's back. The syringe poured a chemical into her blood stream that knocked her out cold. Karl punched another Reaver across the face, then grabbed another by the neck and threw him to the ground. Skullbuster picked Xavier up and began walking him to the aircraft floating inches from the ground.

"Units 9 and 24, deal with that thing" Skullbuster said.

"You got it boss" One of the Reavers said.

Two of the Reavers walked away from the group as they carried Emma onto the aircraft. They armed their wrist blasters and fired directly at Karl, knocking him into the trees. Karl watched as the aircraft flew into the air, then dashed away, faster than any aircraft he had ever seen before.

"NO!!" Karl yelled, getting up off the floor.

He grabbed a nearby log and stood ready as the two Reavers walked towards him. Blades slid out of their wrists as they broke off into a run towards Karl. Swinging the log, Karl smacked one of the Reavers across the face. Easily recovering the Reaver slashed Karl across the chest. The blade tore off his armour, revealing the organs underneath.

"No!" Karl said, slamming his fist into the Reaver.

The other one moved behind Karl, thrusting his blade forward. But Karl ducked underneath the blade, pressed his hands against the floor and slammed his feet into the Reaver's chest. He rolled across the floor, dodging a downward slash.

"You're a tough little bastard, then again you are a machine, and machinery is the future" The Reaver said as he pointed his wrist cannon at Karl.

But before the Reaver could fire, a blast flew out of the trees, cutting off the Reavers arm. Stepping back in horror, the Reaver looked towards where the blast came from. Suddenly, a second blast flew into his chest, knocking him to the floor. The second Reaver fired his cannon, only to have the energy bullet break apart as it left the barrel. A golden aura surrounded the Reaver as he was lifted into the air. Then he was sent flying through the forest, crashing through several trees before slamming into a rock. Karl looked towards where the blast had come from and widened his eyes.

Standing on top of a boulder was an X-man, his uniform blue with a gold harness and what looked like a neck guard made from Cyclops's visor. Strapped to his back was a rifle, but it wasn't any kind that Karl was familiar with and he knew every weapon in existence. A utility belt of some kind was wrapped around the mans waist, an X was the belt buckle while a yellow X was on the shoulder of his left arm. His right arm was covered in some kind of metal while his left hand was gripping firmly the handle of a high tech rifle, two more pistols strapped to his hips. What stood out was his glowing left eye, covered with a blue mask that left his mouth and the right side of his face exposed. His white hair hung over his eyes as he put his rifle onto his back.

"Machineries in the future, just not the way you want it to be" The X-man said, jumping off the boulder and landing smoothly on the ground. "I've never seen you before, but I can tell you want to save Charles and Emma, don't know about her but I'll definitely help you save the Professor" He said.

"Who are you?" Karl asked.

"Call me Cable!"

Next Chapter 10: Rescue

* * *

yep, Cable is introeduced, he's the same one from my earlier try at an X-men fic as well as Mission of Hellfire, though he's had a bit of a costume change. He'll play a major role in a few chapters as well as a future story arc and will even have his own fic revealing the secrets of his past. So for now I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the next


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

* * *

The Dream We Share

Chapter 10: Rescue

Karl stared at the X-man standing before him. Or at least it was logical for him to assume that Cable was an X-man, granted the uniform and powers. Cable looked at the unconscious body of the Reaver, tapping his armoured arm. A cube suddenly slid out of the arm into the palm of Cable's hand.

"What do you think computer, Reaver right?" Cable asked.

"It appears so, I am pulling up a series of files on Pierce and the Hellfire Club…wait it appears in this reality he is not yet a member" A disembodied voice explained as the cube flashed with every word.

"Give me a series of names of significant Hellfire Club members and the names of people with connections to the club" Cable said.

"In this reality its designation is not club but organisation, the series of night clubs it owns are notable for their perfectly legal activities, the organisation itself donates handsomely to charities every year and is ran by business men Sebastian Shaw, Warren Worthington the Second, Gregory Stark, Eli Bard, Harry Leland and Courtney Ross" The Computer explained.

"Stark, is that Tony or a brother like in 1610?" Cable asked.

"Yes, there are also several regular attendees of the clubs that you might find interesting, they include Robert Drake, Alison Blaire, Warren Worthington the third and Candy Southern"

"I'll check them later, right now we need to track down the Reavers, excuse me what's your name?" Cable asked Karl.

"Karl, what were you talking about?" Karl asked.

"Sorry, not enough time, come with me and we'll check the mansion grounds" Cable said.

They walked through the forest and back to the mansion grounds. Cable looked at the dead bodies while Karl kept his eyes on the trashed helicopter. He couldn't believe that he had destroyed a helicopter and killed specialist mercenaries with only his hands. Even without the weapons and Sentinel armour he was a killing machine. And even with Xavier's telepathy he couldn't erase the logic of a tool used to end lives. Even now battle plans were going through Karl's mind. He shook his head, trying to shake logic and reason away, to focus on the guilt he should be feeling.

Cable on the other hand was focusing more on the trail that the Reavers had left. His eye glowed as he looked towards the sky. Replacing his regular coloured view of the world was a view of a black and white world with a silver vapour floating in the air. It was the ion trail left by the Reavers highly advanced ship. It was too advanced for any technology that humans could produce. Scratching his chin, Cable focused as he used his telepathy. The Reavers had shielding stopping him from reading surface thoughts, but he could still tell where they were. Now all he had to do was calibrate his body slide technology to take him and Karl to that location. Looking at the android standing before him Cable couldn't help but wonder who he was. He couldn't remember meeting a version of Karl in any of he realities he visited.

"Do you know how to fight?" Cable asked.

"Yes, I have detailed knowledge on every martial arts discipline revealed to the public as well as two martial art forms classified by S.H.I.E.L.D." Karl said, shaking his own head at his robotic response.

"All right, you're going to have to use those styles if you're going to survive a fight with the Reaver's" Cable said, bringing up a holographic keyboard.

He typed on the keyboard, adjusting his body slide so that it would take two people.

"I'm going to teleport us to the area that they are being held in, I want you to be aware that we'll be going head on into fire, whoever kidnapped the Professor wanted the X-men to follow so they'll definitely have some kind of trap planted, fortunately they probably don't have anything that could prepare them for us" Cable explained.

Karl nodded his head as he walked to the X-man's side. He didn't know what exactly this man had in mind, but he knew it would be better than waiting for the real X-men to arrive. After all they had their own problems to deal with, one half of the team was going to Mississippi and the other half was picking up the new Mutant Jubilee. The Black Bird model 1 was just coming up to the warehouse that Logan was sitting in. Jubilee was sitting away from him, avoiding eye contact with the gruff man. He sniffed and shook his head, as he smelt a familiar scent. Hank stepped up behind the man, preparing to yell a roar that would make the prone Wolverine jump.

"Don't even think about it Hank!" Wolverine said with a smirk.

Beast blew a raspberry as he slouched. Jumping over Wolverine, he crawled across the floor and crossed his legs as he sat in front of the older X-man.

"Senses are still as sharp as ever Logan" Beast said with a grin.

"Comes with the territory, cant be too careful these days Hank" Wolverine huffed.

"Indeed!" Angel said as he landed gently on the ground.

Dazzler and Cannonball walked in after them, the latter of which smiled when he saw Jubilee.

"Howdy Jubes, sorry about being late and all" Cannonball said.

Dazzler looked at the dead bodies around the room and crossed her arms with a huff. The X-men were all about not killing and yet they hypocritically associated themselves with a trained killer. In all honesty Logan crept her out, he was gruff, rude and a prideful Canadian, though not a patriotic. Sure he was sexy, hell she would have voted him sexiest man at the mansion. But his age was impossible to determine and he was anti-social with the other students. It was only the original X-men, Sage, Forge and the Professor he would really talk to, and most of the time it was over matters that would concern the fragments of his past, some form of training or bossing them around.

"So Logan, planning on joining the X-men, you'll need a brighter costume" Beast said as the group began to walk outside.

"Sorry Hank but I think I'm a little old to be wearing yellow spandex like the old days, I'll stick with black glowing red eyes for now" Logan said, lifting off his cowl. "Now give me the B-1 remote, I'm flying us back" He ordered, snatching the Black Bird's remote out of Beast's hand.

"Um guys and gal, I think we've got a problem" Cannonball said sheepishly as Jubilee clutched his arm.

The X-men turned around and widened their eyes as Jubilee burst into tears. She buried her face into Sam's arm, choking as she mourned what she had lost. Wolverine merely turned around, brining the Black Bird out of the clouds and hovering it above the ground. He pushed another button, opening the jets hatch.

"Jubilee, we know its traumatising but if you just give us a minute we can get you to your parents and talk about everything" Sam explained, rubbing the girls shoulders gently.

"Her foster parents were killed Guthrie, right now she's the responsibility of the states social services, the Professor will need to talk with them before we take her anywhere" Wolverine explained.

"Oh god!" Hank said.

Dazzler lowered her head while Cannonball hugged the girl. Angel rubbed his forehead in frustration; the X-men recruitment drives were never easy these days. It was nothing like the old days, when the X-men were first starting. He could still remember the day he was recruited by Xavier, the day he set out on a path that defined who he was.

* * *

He was of the Worthington family, practically a dynasty by his grandfather's standards. Warren Worthington the First started the company in World War Two; he played a minor role in the Manhattan project, mostly investing his money in materials and resources. He made his money in medical supplies for the army. After the end, Worthington industries became a major pharmaceutical company in America. It was when Warren Worthington the second took over the company in the Seventies that it was put on the map through a merger of multiple companies.

The series of companies joining together earned a nickname used by the general public. It was a name that represented the futurist attitude of Sebastian Shaw, the prestige of Harry Leland and the ruthlessness of Eli Bard. They called the partnership "The Hellfire Organisation". Over the years more and more companies joined the organisation, including the older Brother of Anthony Stark, Gregory Stark and a British Business woman Courtney Ross. With this partnership Worthington Pharmaceuticals became a leading provider of Health care, only matched by the NHS.

Warren himself was born in 1991 and would spend the better part of his young life at private schools and conferences listening to old men drone on about society and the prestige of their families. As a student he was as good as any ordinary high schooler. But he was far from ordinary, people always expected better of him, particularly his father. Every time he showed his father his markings he would get the same reaction.

"Impressive Warren, but you must continue to improve"

Never, ever was it enough for the man, something more always had to be done. Warren studied, but it was the call of the nightlife that always got his attention. He would go to clubs, the Hellfire Club in particular. Courtney Ross was the owner of many nightclubs in America, all of which had the name Hellfire. Warren would dance through the crowds, drink the shots and generally get away with underage drinking and drugs. All because of the girl he was dating at the time.

* * *

"Hey rich kid you awake?"

Warren slipped back to reality, as Wolverine looked him in the eyes. The man grunted as turned his back to Angel.

"Dazzler and Cannonball are taking the girl back to her house, I want you to watch them while Hank and I get to where she was kidnapped" Wolverine said.

"Our aim is to protect both the girl and investigate the killings at the restaurant she was in" Hank added.

"If social services are waiting then tell them to take up any concerns with Xavier's secretary, but knowing them they'll probably just say we can take her considering she's a mutant, don't spend too long at the house, Charles might need us in case another new mutant is discovered" Wolverine explained as he began climbing up towards the roof of a building.

"Well I guess it's been decided what we're doing then!" Dazzler said with a grin.

"Oh and Hank…get my bike onto the jet, and if there a scratch you're paying for a repaint" Wolverine called from the jet.

Hank groaned while the other X-men patted his shoulders before leaving. He really hated having to carry Wolverine's motorcycle.

* * *

The Professor stirred in his sleep, and suddenly awakened with a start. He was strapped to an operating table of some kind, his clothes ripped off with a disc of some kind attached to his head. This device was blinking, affecting his telepathy, not disrupting it but confusing it. He could hear thoughts all around him, all of them curious.

'The boss will be pleased!'

'Professor Xavier, shit I expected more than some damn cripple'

'Hopefully this pay checks worth the risk'

'Damn Frost has got a nice body'

Xavier tilted his eyes to the right, Emma was right next to him, naked and strapped to the operating chair.

'Maybe we could have some fun with Frost before we do the job'

The Professor widened his eyes as the lustful looks of the mercenaries around Emma. He tried to move his arms, desperate to break free. If he could just get his arms loose then he could remove the device on his head he would be able to lash out with a psychic wave. But the straps were too tight around his wrists. In his younger days it would have been easier, even when he was discharged from the marines. The apparent leader of the group walked forward, holding a scalpel.

'If you can hear my thoughts Xavier then hear this, we're going to implant a bomb in the base of your skull, when this bomb explodes it will kill every mutant in your mansion, and the best part of it is that you wont remember what I've thought until it is too late' The man thought as he prepped his buzz saw. "Hold his neck and head!" He said to two men beside him.

Charles yelled out as the two men grabbed his head. The Head Reaver bought his buzz saw closing and closer towards Xavier's head. Suddenly, a ring appeared in the centre of the warehouse, drawing the Reaver's away from their surgery. It floated downwards, materialising Karl and Cable before disappearing.

"Body slide successful, sorry for just barging in boys" Cable said, before pulling out his pistol and firing a shot that flew straight through the leading Reaver's hand.

The Reaver yelled, but not from the pain of the bullet. When the bullet pierced his hand, on reflex he let go of the saw, dropping it onto his foot. Blood poured across the floor as he fell down, and with their squad leader down the Reaver's were temporarily disorganised. But they still had enough brains to draw their guns and start firing. With a wave of his hand, Cable stopped some of the bullets in midair.

"I hope you've got some pistol training Karl" Cable said, throwing his pistol over to Karl.

Karl stared at the pistol for a moment, his sentinel logic told him to aim at the Reaver's and shoot them all in their heads. Cable however used his telekinesis to throw two of them away from the operating tables. The others ran forward, firing their weapons at the new arrivals. While the leader screamed, the soldiers abandoned him, bringing out their hidden blades, saws and cannons. Drawing the plasma rifle from his back, Cable took aim and fired a concussive blast that knocked back three grouped together Reavers. A bulking Reaver ran towards him, trying to fire his cannon at point blank range. But Cable ducked underneath the blast and slammed his metallic fist into the Reaver's face, cracking his nose and knocking him out. He then fired two EMP bullets, disrupting the equipment of two Reavers.

"Most effective method to dispatch targets: Gun shots through head, eye, heart, lungs and both kidneys…No! I mustn't!" Karl groaned, squeezing his hands into fists.

He dropped to his knees, the gun sliding across the floor. Cable widened his eyes in shock as two Reavers walked towards Karl. Three more Reaver's fired their cannons at Cable, hitting his chest. He grinned as blue telekinetic energy surrounded his body. Then with a sweep of his hand he threw the three mercenaries against the wall so hard that the bricks shattered. Cable then looked down the sight of his rifle, firing a burst of solid shells into the back of a hulking Reaver. This caught that Reaver's attention, drawing him away from Karl. But the other Reaver wasn't drawn away, pressing his pistol against Karl's head.

"Lets see if your control device is in your head instead" The Reaver said.

'Immediate threat detected: Cybernetic target equipped with custom desert eagle, ammo type armour piercing, first disable weapon, then obstruct vision, eyes unprotected, target stance indicates weak defence on left side, distort with left side blow then disable with blow to head'

The "thought" was a simple millisecond for Karl before his hands sprung into action. He grabbed the barrel of the gun and with a simple twist of his wrist he bent the barrel. Then he slammed his fingers into the mans eyes. With a punch to the left kidney, Karl sent the man staggering back. Karl then drove his knee into the mans gut and then slammed the tip of his elbow into the back of the mans head.

'Threat neutralised, threat to Professor Xavier imminent: Intercept target weapon, then disable target with multiple blows to foot wound'

Karl saw the leading Reaver slowly getting up off the floor. He broke off into a run, dashing past Cable as he slammed his fist into a Reaver's head. The Leading Reaver grinded his teeth together as he readied his buzz saw. He didn't care if the plan was a failure, he would kill Xavier then the blonde haired bitch. But when he swung his saw downwards, Karl slid across the floor and shattered the blade with his fist. Karl then mercilessly slammed his foot into the mans mutilated foot, causing him to scream in agony. Then he grabbed the mans neck and slammed him against the ground.

'Threat to Professor neutralised!'

Cable fired a concussive shot into the last of the Reaver's, and then turned his head towards the Professor. He widened his eyes as one of the fallen Reaver's was crawling towards a table. The man clicked the button of a circular device, small enough to fit into Xavier's brain. Without hesitation, Cable ran to the table, kicking the Reaver and grabbing the device.

"Computer, full analysis quickly!" He said.

"Analysis complete: Object identified as psychic augmenter, specifically targets telepathic mutants, disrupting control of telepathy and triggering psychic wave to shut down minds in 50 mile radius" The computer explained.

"Oh shit!" Karl said, letting go of the unconscious leader.

"Don't worry kid, you get that device off of Xavier's forehead, he'll then call for a lift…me, I'll be getting rid of this bomb" Cable said casually. "I'll probably se you around some time, sorry our team up was short, Computer, body warp to Earth 666"

Karl widened his eyes as the X-man disappeared in a bright flash of blue light. Xavier too was taken back by the actions of the man dressed in a modified X-uniform. Walking over to Xavier, Karl ripped the device off of his forehead, and then proceeded to do the same for Frost. As soon as the device came off, Xavier used his telepathy, reaching into the minds of those present. He cursed, their minds completely blank, like a computer that had just been erased. Fortunately Xavier knew enough to know where he was and what he needed to contain the shut down Reaver's. His telepathy gave him a vision, one that extended to half way across the world and onto the Black Bird model 1. The astral form of Xavier appeared before Wolverine, telling him everything that had happened and everything that needed to happen.

"Don't worry Chuck, I'll be there as soon as I can" Logan said.

Beast huffed and puffed as he carried Wolverine's heavy motorcycle onto the Black Bird. He slumped to his shoulders, and let out a small yelp as Wolverine threw a communicator at his chest.

"Contact Fury Hank, tell him we're going to need a tech expert and a containment crew for prisoners" Wolverine said as he pulled on his cowl.

"What about an interrogator?" Beast asked.

Logan looked at Beast, who shivered, pitying the Reavers. Wolverine was the best at what he did, and unfortunately will do is something very scary!

Next Chapter 11: Runaway Rogue

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed it, next we've got the origin of a famous X-woman


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

__

Italics are memories, and if you think I'm getting the accents wrong with the Mississipi characters then I apologise, I'm doing my best

* * *

The Dream We Share

Chapter 11: Runaway Rogue

There was one thing that had been scientifically proven in mutants, the activation of powers would manifest at some point during puberty during a moment of extreme stress, whether it was anger, sadness or joy at times it would result in the manifestation of the power. Unless the mutation was physical of course, Xavier knew of cases in which the changes simply occurred over night or over a period of time. Whatever the case that the powers had manifested, Xavier knew from personal experience that the manifestation of these great and sometimes terrible powers was never easy. Often it was a moment in a young teenagers life that completely shattered their plans and dreams. No one ever came out the same when their powers first manifested, and that was a fact in the lives of the X-men.

* * *

If there was one thing the neighbours of the Robbins's hated about that family's eldest son it was the fact that he was eighteen. Even in Mississippi boys would be boys, and Cody Robbins was definitely the kind of boy that the state respected. He had been Captain of the Football team, had won the state championship, was the heartthrob of countless girls and was well respected by his friends. So when he was accepted at college with the possibility of the dolphins scouting him naturally a party was in order. He already had his quiet get together with the family, but now the house by the lake was free of parents and younger brothers and free for hormone driven teenagers in the mood for underage drinking and sex. Music blared and cheers echoed in the air. Cody rolled up to the house, smirking as he saw his football teammates. Then he looked to his girlfriend sitting beside him.

"Well Sugah, this is your party" She said with a smile.

"Then it's best not to keep them waiting, lets go Rogue" Cody said, lifting the girl out of his car.

"Cody how many times do ah have to tell you its Marie" the brown haired girl said.

"You'll always be the Rogue to me Sugah, ready for the time of your life?" Cody asked.

"You bet ah am!"

Congratulations we're thrown out amongst the friends and classmates. Cody spoke with his guests, but his attention was always on the girl Marie. She came to the town a year ago with her blind guardian. Despite her looks she had been withdrawn at first, but eventually Cody managed to get her out of her shell. She was actually a very confident girl and despite her guardians objections she began to date Cody. Now with the end of Cody's high school years, he couldn't think of any one better to spend his time with. Marie pressed the bottle against her lips, tilting the bitter liquid into her throat.

"Careful Marie, I'd think you'd want all your senses free for tonight" Cody said with a smile.

"I could drink your friends under the table Cody" Marie said, poking Cody's chest.

Cody grabbed the girl's hand and put it on his shoulder, wrapping his arms around her hips and pressing their foreheads together.

"Ah'd rather not have one of our first parties together be a drunken mess, you mean too much to me for us to tarnish our relationship like that" Cody said.

"And what makes you think what we have is a relationship?" Marie's asked cockily.

He pressed his lips against hers, ignoring the cheering and jealous jeering the two of them kept their lips locked together. When they separated they both blushed, looking one another in the eyes. No more words were spoken as they rushed through the crowds of partygoers and towards Cody's bedroom. Slamming the door behind him, Cody lifted off Marie's tank top and in return Marie tore of Cody's shirt. Their tongues hungrily wrestled together, only stopping to give one another air.

"God Damn it, Ah love you Marie!" Cody said, bringing a smile to the girls' face.

"So what did you have planned, a night of passionate sex or a tender cuddle in bed?" Marie asked.

"Maybe a mix of both!"

Marie leant her back, smiling as Cody traced butterfly kisses across her neck. He grabbed her legs, lifting her off the ground and pinning her against the wall. Marie ran her hands down Cody's arms, squeezing his biceps and moaning as he kissed her breast.

"Ah've loved you ever since I first saw you Rogue!" Cody said, kissing Marie's lips.

"How many times have ah got a tell ya, the names Marie" She said playfully, grabbing Cody's mouth with hers.

She kept her mouth locked with his, holding his cheeks tightly as he continued to press her against the wall. Then Cody fell backwards, with Rogue straddling his waist, continuing to keep her lips pressed against his.

"Oh god Cody Ah want you so badly!" Marie groaned, opening her eyes as she separated her lips from his.

"I want you too my Rogue" Cody said weakly.

Marie smiled before lowering her head and kissing Cody one final time. It had been a scientific fact that most mutant abilities manifested in times of great emotional activity, whether it was anger, sadness or in Marie's case pleasure. Cody and Marie widened their eyes as Cody's veins throbbed and his skin paled. He gasped, letting out a pained yell. Marie threw her head back, images flashing through her head.

_"Cody, I'm giving you this one warning, stay away from that girl!"_

_"Hi sugah, I'm Cody, care telling me what your name is"_

_"Robbins catches the ball, he jumps over Williams…TOUCH DOWN! CODY ROBBINS TAKES THE CUP!"_

_"Why are you so fixated on this girl? What has she got that so many other nice girls don't have?"_

_"She's special Momma, Ah knew it the second ah laid eyes on her!"_

Marie screamed, throwing herself off of Cody as he fell unconscious. The door was swung open and two of Cody's friends ran inside.

"CODY!" They yelled.

"NO STAY BACK! DON'T TOUCH ME!" Marie screamed, backing herself against the wall.

The two boys looked at Marie in shock before one ran to call an ambulance.

* * *

Her scream echoed through the air, causing the ears of a feline mutant to twitch. She purred, her furry but feminine form pressed against her sister's own chest. Both were mutants with physical mutations that gave them catlike eyes and claws, one had brown fur while the other had blonde.

"Thornn, Feral do you have to be so grouse?" A young white haired woman asked, she wore a tight black uniform that left her cleavage, shoulders and thighs exposed.

"I don't know Lorelei, Detonator and I quite enjoy the show the twins can provide us" A pale skinned man said, tilting his red cap.

The man beside him was an African American man wearing a green and purple uniform that left his arms exposed.

"Detonator, Random, enough of your games, we have work to do!" Their leader said.

He sat on a rock, scratching his chin with his finger. However instead of the finger touching his grey skin it seemed to press against an invisible force inches from his chin. The grey coat he wore left his chest exposed, with black half moon tattoos on his abdomen and chest. Tattoo markings were also on his cheeks and forehead, his black hair unkempt and barely covering his eyes.

"What if the X-men interfere?" Lorelei, the white haired woman asked.

"We follow the plan of course" The leader said, getting off the rock he sat on and walking forward.

"What's going to happen to the girl, you know once they figure out she's got a death touch?" Random asked.

"What the X-men always do when they have a mutant, try and fail to help her!"

* * *

Cyclops and his team of X-men were already en route to pick the girl up when the call came onto their jets radio. Polaris sat with Colossus, while Beak was crouched on his seat just behind Cyclops. Scott pushed the flashing button on the console, brining up a screen with Sage's face on it.

"When you get to Mississippi you will encounter a problem in recruiting the girl, her powers have activated and a boy has been put in the hospital, no details of his condition were given to the public but a surface scan of the thoughts of several gang members indicate that they are taking care when touching the girl" Sage explained.

"Wait a minute, say that bit again" Beak said.

"When you get to Mississippi…"

"I think he meant for you to explain what you meant by gang members Sage" Cyclops interrupted.

"Several of the boys friends have formed a gang to bring her in, they had chased her down with a truck but she had managed to lose them, now they are searching through the river and surrounding forest area"

"Any word from this girls guardian?" Wolfsbane asked.

"Nothing, the house they had lived in was deserted and I have found nothing on the girls background information, it was as if she didn't exist before Cerebro found her" Sage said.

"How strange!" Cyclops said, scratching his chin.

"We maybe walking into danger but we still need to help the girl" Polaris pointed out.

"I agree!" Colossus said.

"Your only saying that cause your whipped" Beak chuckled.

"We need to be careful about this, approach the situation calmly, pick the girl up, get her out and Xavier can then make contact with the town authorities once we have her in a safe location, we don't want to hurt any civilians either" Cyclops explained.

"Even if they're mutant hating scum?" Polaris asked.

"Hey this girls obviously done something to their friend Lorna, we should try listening to their side of the story before beating them up" Beak said.

"All right enough chitchat, Beak we're over the area now so you and Polaris start some aerial reconnaissance, Wolfsbane, Colossus and I will start checking the locations she was at last and from there we'll track her down, Colossus get the jeep in the cargo bay ready, I'll call Xavier and see how he's doing" Cyclops said before trying in the frequency for Xavier communicator.

Xavier appeared on the screen, the background showing several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents analysing the area he and Frost had been imprisoned in.

"What happened Professor?" Cyclops asked, ignoring the hissing of the jets side door.

Polaris and Beak jumped out of the aircraft, flying through he night sky and looking down at the lights of the town. Xavier took a deep breath and explained to Cyclops what had transpired earlier on. Cyclops grinded his teeth together, frustrated at how none of the recruitment missions were easy anymore. With earlier students it had been simple matters of asking their parents then picking them up and getting them settled into the school. Now it seemed that every recruitment mission needed a big disaster or obstacle to get in the way.

"Pick the girl up quickly Scott, then get back the mansion, we need to start Alexis's funeral, we've already delayed it for too long" Xavier said before he cut the line.

Cyclops sighed; the X-men just couldn't seem to get a break. The sooner they recruited more members the better. Polaris and Beak flew over the town, looking at the flashlights some of the gang members were carrying to search the swamp. Beak used his enhanced eyesight to look at the weapons, pitchfork, baseball bats and a few of them had shotguns, pump action and double barrelled. Polaris restrained her urge to tear the guns out of their hands, because she knew on Xavier's rules of engagement of defending oneself when fired upon. Still Polaris's blood boiled when she heard the insults coming from them.

"Mutant bitch, we should be lynching her like we did to them niggers in the old days!" a middle aged man said, wearing a trucker cap and carrying a shotgun with a cut barrel on his shoulder.

Across the town, Cyclops and Wolfsbane landed the jeep, with Colossus landing in his armoured form. Climbing out of the jeep, Cyclops looked over the scene of the deserted house. Beer bottles were scattered on the grass and Wolfsbane cringed, as she smelt the drugs and sex that had been going on, and she wasn't even in her wolf form. When they got into Cody's bedroom, Rahne shifted into her wolf form and sniffed at the ground.

"I've picked up a scent" She said.

"All right, get in the jeep, then we'll start searching!" Cyclops said.

"Wait a minute Scott, I'm picking up another scent, a group of people, five people, two smell like cats!" Rahne said with a growl.

"We're not the only mutants searching for her, get to the jeep quickly!"

* * *

Karl sat at a chair, watching the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents analyse the scene. They were certainly thorough, but Karl couldn't help but have the feeling some of them were corrupt. At least five of them looked at Xavier with contempt, taking no care as they dumped the Reaver's parts into the evidence trailer. Beast took a seat beside Karl, patting him on the back.

"Good job with the rescue Karl, it would be good to thank and talk to that guy in the X-men uniform" Beast said.

"How is Wolverine doing with the prisoners?" Karl asked.

"He's interrogating one right now!"

The said Reaver was sitting in a chair, looking at Wolverine with a fierce stare. Logan kept his mask on; the fierceness of the red eyes would make the intimidation easier.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has some of your other friends in custody, they'll analyse your tech and probably find that it wont lead to anyone, Xavier wont really analyse your mind and he's keeping Frost at bay, but me, well he ain't got a leach short enough to contain me, and even if he did, he wants me to get answers from you, so really there's no other way out of this room in one piece than giving me the information I need" Wolverine explained.

"What are you going to do, kill me? Mutant scum!" The Reaver growled.

"You got hired to do a job you liked doing, you know what we do to racist pricks in Canada!"

"Do your worst you fucking cu…"

But the man never finished his insults as Wolverine popped his claws right into the mans kneecap. He yelled in agony, his head flailing around with spit hanging off his mouth. Logan sheathed his claw, pressing his knuckle against the mans groin. The man held it in place, waiting for the Reaver to stop screaming. When he stopped, Logan slapped the mans cheek to get his attention.

"That's one important limb, want me to go for the other one or do you feel like talking, if you lie to me I'll know, I can smell the extra stress from a lie so be honest with me or you'll never have kids" Logan explained.

The man released a groan, one that slowly turned into laughter. He threw his head back, laughing hysterically.

"Idiot, Idiot idiot idiot! You fucking idiots…you think we're going to fucking talk, you think we'll fucking talk? You have no idea what's going on, we sacrificed so much to kill just one of you, how far do you think we're willing to go for the whole species…the whole species, not one of you is going to be safe, tell me if I'm lying about that, tell me if I'm lying about there being a plan, a plan so big and so deep that not even the guy who hired us knows about it…we all know each others hate, but we don't one another's names…you have no idea just how many people in this world want you dead…its in a triple, no a four digit number man" The Reaver laughed madly, smiling as his eyes glared at Wolverine. "So go on rip me apart, YOU'RE A FUCKING SAVAGE RIP ME APART LIKE THE ANIMAL YOU ARE!" He yelled, spitting on Wolverine's cheek.

Logan grabbed the back of the mans head, slamming him against the wall.

"Agent, get this piece of shit to the Triskelion or the Raft or whatever hell kind of prison you take men like him to" Logan said, slipping off his cowl and walking out of the room.

The agent saluted Wolverine, looking into the room to see the Reaver laughing manically. Logan walked into the hallway, making no effort to hide the blood on his knuckle. Hank didn't approve of his tactics, but they had been friends for a while and didn't openly question one another. Beast looked at Wolverine as he walked away, remembering how the man had helped him with his own feral nature at one point. Karl got off his seat, looking between Wolverine and Beast.

"What happened?" He asked.

"The Reaver's aren't just mercenaries, they're a mutant hate group, either that mans delusional or we've got a whole network of mutant haters on our hands" Logan began, leading Hank and Karl to the jet outside.

Xavier was already in the pilot seat, going through the take off procedure.

"Back up Charles, I'll take care of this one" Logan said, sitting in the main pilot seat.

"Nothing?" Xavier asked.

"Only that you'd better be ready for a fight Charles, I'd recommend a curfew for your students"

Karl and Beast got settled into their seats as the X-jet took off. Frost sat in the chair behind them, showing little interest in the direction of Xavier and Logan's conversation.

"Won't you stay with us?" Xavier asked.

"I was tracking a lead on Weapon X until Sage called me" Logan said bluntly.

"Oh!" Xavier lowered his head, knowing that quite often it was Logan's search for answers that kept him from the mansion. "Did you find anything?" he asked, the awkward atmosphere caused Hank to hold his breath.

"Texas was home to a small facility, apparently researching alternatives to the super soldier serum, alls I found was an empty test tube with old blood stains and an address in Canada, as soon as we're done here I'm going there" Logan explained.

"You won't stay will you? That's too bad, Kitty will be happy to see you, it would certainly give her something to think about besides Alexis's passing"

"Alexis…she was killed too?" Logan asked.

"Yes darling, rather brutally as well, a shot through her chest, I believe she died in Henry's arms" Emma said snidely.

Hank growled while Karl looked to Frost, his eyes narrowing to glare at her.

"Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't the Professor tell you not to read minds?" Karl asked.

"I believe I did, Emma I will not hear another comment like that from you again, do you understand me?" Xavier asked.

"Alexis…what happened to the Sentinel in the end?" Logan asked.

"Logan, the Sentinel was actually a machine/human hybrid, a boy that had been forced to obey a program, we restored the boy and put him in a new body, Karl regrets what he's done" Xavier explained, looking to Karl as he leant back into his chair.

Logan took a deep breath, his hand moving towards the auto pilot button. An alarmed look crossed Xavier's face while Emma smirked.

"Oh my stars and garters" Hank muttered.

**SNIKT!**

* * *

Marie ran as fast as she could, wading through the marshes and filth of the river. The memories continued to flood through her mind; of the times that Cody had won games, always looking to her seat. He had only gather the courage to ask her out when she had cheered for him at one of the away games.

"Oh ma god…what the hells happening to me?" She asked, begging for an answer.

Her ears twitched as she heard the crowd behind her.

"I'VE FOUND HER BOYS!" One of the older men yelled.

"Ah can't go on, please god, please help me!" She prayed, putting her hands together.

They waded through the river, keeping their distance as they approached the Rogue. The man with the shotgun cocked his weapon, aiming it at the back of Marie's head. Her hands and lips trembled as she prayed and prayed and prayed.

"Burn in hell you fucking bitch!" The man said.

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew the men back and Marie found herself being lifted off the ground. Beak swooped downwards, knocking the crowd back again. Polaris held Marie by her shoulders, flying them both over the river.

"Hi, love the hair!" Lorna said.

"What's going on, no don't touch me!" Marie cried out.

She thrashed, trying to get out of Polaris's grip, no one could touch her or else they would die like Cody. Marie flailed her hands around, trying to slip out of the green haired girl's grip. She broke her arm free of Polaris's grip, hitting the girl's cheek. Lorna's eyes widened as her veins throbbed. Images poured through Marie's mind as her eyes glowed green.

_"Are you okay Miss…"_

_"Lorna, Lorna Dane, thank you whoever you are"_

_"Mom, who was that man that came by the house earlier?"_

_"Sorry for being the only one to welcome you, I'm one of Bobby's friends…wow he never said your hair was green"_

_"It's always been like this, I'm tired of dying it all the time, besides this is a place that accepts mutants isn't it!"_

_"Are you okay Lorna?"_

_"I'm fine Peter!"_

_"I was wondering…well it's okay if you don't want to but well, would you like to…maybe see a movie sometime, unless of course you don't want to…I wont be offended if"_

Marie screamed while Lorna fell unconscious, both of them falling towards the ground. Colossus widened his eyes as he saw Polaris falling towards the river.

"LORNA!" He yelled.

"BEAK CATCH THE GIRL QUICK!" Cyclops yelled.

Beak flew as fast as he could, diving towards the two girls. He grabbed Polaris with his talons, and then swooped towards Marie. The girl slammed into his back, knocking him off balance. Marie then fell into the arms of a young man wearing a black coat. Beak flapped his wings, doing his best to keep Polaris away from the water. He looked to his side, widening his eyes at the group he saw around Marie. More civilians rushed out of the trees, looking at the mutants.

"More muties, oi Bradley you've got a gun, waste em" One of the men said.

The leader, a member of the Sheriff's department reached for his pistol. Feral growled, ready to jump, but the leader of the band of mutants gave her a sharp look. It was a warning, "back off" his eyes said. The deputy raised his pistol, never hesitating as he fired a shot towards the young black haired man. A smile crossed his face as his tattoos suddenly began to glow. The bullet suddenly disintegrated, as if it had touched some kind of invisible barrier.

"Nothing can harm me, so don't bother trying, I am untouchable, kill them all" He ordered.

"Sure thing Unus!" Random said.

Random took a step forward, his arm twisting, shaping itself into a three-barrelled cannon. But before he could fire, a red beam tore through the trees, slamming into his chest and knocking him down. The gang of mutants turned towards where the blast had come from as Cyclops, Colossus and Wolfsbane walked out of the trees, ready for a fight.

* * *

Far away from the imminent battle, Irene Adler walked onto the bus driving away from the town. She sat next to her companion, a blonde haired woman who caught the eye of many men around her.

"Are you sure this is the only way Raven?" Irene asked.

"Yes Irene, it is, you've seen the possibilities of what may happen, by doing what we've done we've added a new possibility into the mix, I don't like it anymore than you do Irene, but this is the only scenario I could think of where we survive…I will do everything that the X-men aren't prepared to do in order to protect my family" Raven explained, her voice solemn as her eyes changed from ice cold blue to glaring yellow.

Next Chapter 12: Feral Rage

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next we see Wolverine getting to know Karl!


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men,

I've dome some rewritting to this chapter, thought I would expand on Alexis's story and utilise the M rating a bit more, so enjoy the expanded chapter

* * *

The Dream we Share

Chapter 12: Feral Rage

"Alexis…what happened to the Sentinel in the end?" Logan asked.

"Logan, the Sentinel was actually a machine/human hybrid, a boy that had been forced to obey a program, we restored the boy and put him in a new body, Karl regrets what he's done" Xavier explained, looking to Karl as he leant back into his chair.

Logan took a deep breath, his hand moving towards the auto pilot button. An alarmed look crossed Xavier's face while Emma smirked.

"Oh my stars and garters" Hank muttered.

**SNIKT!**

"RAAAAAAAARGH!" Logan roared, running towards Karl.

He swung his claws at Karl, who rolled off his seat, just dodging the blades that cut through the headrest. Wolverine snarled at Karl as the young sentinel/human hybrid rolled onto his feet. Karl's HUD flashed as Wolverine jumped towards him. Beast wrapped his arms around Logan's waist, slamming him headfirst against the ground.

"Logan calm down or you'll go into your berserker state" Beast told him.

"HE MURDERED ALEXIS!" Logan yelled.

"Logan please listen he wasn't in control of his actions" Xavier said, placing his hands over Wolverine's head.

Wolverine thrashed around, slamming his head into beast's nose and slipping out of Xavier's grip. He slashed Karl across the chest, exposing his wires and guts. Karl looked at the veins hanging out of his armour before looking at Wolverine. The man's teeth seemed sharper, with foam hanging off his lip. He couldn't be considered a man anymore. Wolverine well and truly lived up to his name. He was a rapid dog now!

"That will be quite enough" Emma said.

A psi-wave flew from the woman's mind and straight into Wolverine's memories. The man stopped for a moment, his eyes going blank. Psychically he was comatose while his consciousness awoke in a hut, shirtless with his claws pierced through his bed.

"I figured I'd take you to a nice calm place, although its significance to you is lost on me" Emma said, standing at the edge of Wolverine's bed wearing just a white dressing gown.

"You don't want to mess with my head Frost" Logan growled.

"I make no apologies for it, not because you would destroy the Sentinel but because of the smell of oil and guts I would have to put up with" Emma shrugged.

Wolverine retracted his claws, getting off his bed and looking down at Frost with a frown.

"Guts, what do you mean?" He asked.

"Exactly what I said, right now Henry is scooping some of Karl's veins off the floor, he has organs inside that shell you were about to open, heart, lungs, bits and pieces of the human nervous system and a human brain"

"He's human!" Logan said, lowering his shoulders and eyebrows.

"Oh no, he could hardly be considered human anymore, hell we're more human than him and that's saying something" Emma smirked.

"Take me back to the jet!"

"Why so soon, I thought we'd take a trip down memory lane, at least some of the memories that you can actually remember" Emma's gown shifted into her business dress as the hut disappeared, replaced with the school grounds, however the mansion was much smaller.

Logan watched himself walk up to the gate, holding a piece of paper with the address of the mansion. The mansion was much smaller, a reflection of the small student body the school once had. He had pushed the intercom, waiting for a response.

"Hello and welcome to the Xavier institute for people with insanely explosive gifts, if you are looking for the extremely hot Jean Grey please get the hell out of here cause that fish has already been caught, if you're an anti mutant zealot run away as fast as you can cause **I'm coming to get you!"** The voice growled on the other side.

"Kevin get away from that intercom" A woman said in the background.

"It's Morph and please don't interrupt me I've got a hundred different options…wait a minute Jean where did you come from? Wait, I'm sorry about the fish comment…NOOOO!" Morph yelled.

Logan coughed, suppressing his amusement over the young mutant's gags.

"Hello Mr…Logan, I'm Jean Grey, Xavier will see you now if you'd like to walk up to the mansion" Jean said.

The gate slowly opened and Logan walked up to the smaller mansion. Jean waited at the door, wearing a green dress with yellow boots and gloves. Logan gave her a small look over, admiring her legs and hair for a moment before he walked into the mansion. Beside the intercom was a puddle of what looked like white play dough. Suddenly the play dough came to life and shaped into a young brown haired boy wearing a yellow and black suit.

"One of these days I'll find some way to overcome your little deconstruction methods Jean, then I can gag about you and never have to worry about you turning me into a puddle" The boy said.

"Behave yourself Kevin" Jean said, poking the boy's nose.

Logan looked at the mansion, a mildly impressive sight considering how rich Xavier was. Looking at the top of the stairs he narrowed his eyes, seeing a boy the same age as Jean, wearing a blue suit with yellow gloves and boots, wearing some kind of yellow visor over his eyes. Then Logan focused his eyes on the man that came rolling past the boy. Charles Xavier rolled himself towards an elevator built for him. When he was on the ground floor he looked at Logan directly in the eyes.

"I trust you had a good journey" Xavier said casually.

"If you could call hitch hiking on a train a good journey then yeah I suppose it was good" Logan said, frowning down at Xavier.

"Yes sorry about that, I had heard of your ideal with Department H, I also disagree with what they have been doing, withholding information on Weapon X, the people whom erased your memory, while I respected their actions in forming Alpha Flight I can not condone how they have responded to mutants in that area, treating them like criminals and forcing them to work for Alpha Flight is something I can not condone" Xavier explained.

"I had the intention of leaving the country, but you supposedly have something better to offer me, so lets hear it"

"I run a school for gifted youngsters, specifically mutants, here we educate young mutants on not only control of their powers but also basic education and human/mutant relationship ethics, we encourage understand and offer assistance to both our fellow mutants and humankind as a whole"

"That's nice but what does it do for me?" Logan asked.

"Is gives you the chance to do something your good at for the good of the entire world" Xavier said.

Logan laughed, rolling his head back while Morph and Jean looked at him in confusion. Xavier however knew exactly why he was laughing.

"I have memories of men in suits and uniforms telling me the exact same thing, and look where its gotten me now" Logan said.

"Look at me Logan, I will honestly say that I am not going to betray you, I'm not even going to use you…this school is a sanctuary for mutants, your self included Logan, we don't attack, we defend and rescue"

"Sounds good but I'm not buying it, I'm not some kid you can raise with your ideals"

"I am well aware of that Logan, I have a dream that I wish to share with all mutant and humankind, and I'd like you to be a part of that dream" Xavier said, offering the man his hand. "At least give my world a try!"

Logan looked at the moment when he shook Xavier's hand. It was a moment that changed his life. Emma stood beside him, smirking at the memory. She walked beside Logan, heading into another memory. The X-men were younger and smaller, consisting of just Cyclops and Jean. As Marvel Girl, Jean was wearing a yellow mask over her eyes and firing telekinetic blasts alongside Scott. Their energy blasts flew into the barrier of a man wearing a purple cloak and helmet. In a time where Magneto had begun his first rise to power, the X-men had revealed themselves to stop him.

"Your first mission didn't live up to your expectations" Emma said.

"Stay out of my head Frost, bad enough your looking at the only memories I have" Logan said.

He watched himself and suppressed a smile. On his first mission, Logan had allowed himself to be goaded into wearing yellow and black spandex uniform, with the X symbol on his breast. He had popped out his claws and ran through Magneto's acolytes, men wearing black uniforms and visors. They were all no match for Logan; he didn't even need to cut them deeply. Wolverine punched and slashed the Acolytes surrounding a short but bulky brown haired boy. He was both groups target for recruitment, Hank McCoy.

"Never thought Beast was so cute before he grew the blue fur" Emma whistled.

Wolverine roared, head butting an Acolyte and grabbing the collar of Hank's shirt.

"Come on bub we need to get you out of here" He said, throwing him over his shoulder.

Cyclops fired another optic blast into Magneto's magnetic bubble. But the attacks of the inexperienced young man weren't enough to stop the master of magnetism. With one wave of his hand, Magneto bent and manipulated the metal girders around him, wrapping them around Cyclops and Marvel Girl.

"WOLVERINE GET HANK OUT NOW!" Cyclops yelled.

But Wolverine suddenly found himself being suspended above the air. He growled, feeling as if his bones were being twisted around inside him.

"STOP!" Hank yelled, slamming his feet into Magneto's chest.

Emma smirked as she watched Wolverine's past self-fall to the ground, exhausted and beaten from Magneto's attack. Logan snorted, crossing his arms as he turned to another memory. After the mission, Logan had thrown his costume in Xavier's face.

"What the hell was that? I thought this was just a bag and grab" Logan growled.

"Logan we were there to help Hank not kidnap him" Xavier said.

"And yet we still get into a fight, my bones still ache from what Magneto did to me" Wolverine growled.

"Is that what this is about Logan, us facing an enemy that can make you feel vulnerable?" Xavier asked.

"DON'T FUCK WITH ME CHUCK!" Logan yelled, slamming his hands against Xavier's desk.

"The mission was a success, Hank is safe with us"

"Yeah because he chose to come with us, we still got our assess handed to us, this little squad your putting together doesn't have a chance without the proper training" Logan explained.

"Then I was hoping you could train them Logan" Xavier said, making no effort to hide his amused smile.

At the time Logan had blinked in confusion, but as he watched the memory he suppressed a smile. He agreed to stay and helped train the X-men into a better fighting unit. At the same time he had assisted them on missions, switching to a brown and orange costume as the team grew to include Colossus and Polaris. He remembered when he first met Alexis. The X-men were rushing down an alleyway and found a group of men wearing steel mask surrounding her. Wolverine was the first to move, using his claws to slash apart their baseball bats and crowbars.

"What a romantic first meeting, the heroes come to her rescue" Emma scoffed, looking at the helpless form of Alexis.

"Shut up Frost…anyone can be helpless, even the strongest of beings can be turned into a helpless child" Logan said.

Colossus threw one of the thugs against the wall and Beast kicked one in the chest. By the time they were done, it was the X-men that stood over Alexis. She looked at them, her eyes wide in shock as Jean and Lorna kneeled beside her. Her knees were scabby and her nails were broken. Unkempt hair covered her empty eyes and rags covered her slender frame. Logan had looked at the girl and it bought anger to him, he knew that the world was a bad place that bad things happened to good people. But he never could get over the sight of a broken woman. She trembled in fear as Logan took a step towards her. Her hands scraped themselves against the wall, she was practically clawing at the wall for an escape route.

"It's okay we're here to help you" Wolverine said, reaching for her shoulder.

"NO GET AWAY!" she screamed.

Wolverine's nose twitched as he smelt the chemicals coming from her mouth, chemicals that she would use to start a fire. He grabbed Polaris and Beast and threw them as far as he could away from Alexis. Prior to the start of the mission, S.H.I.E.L.D. authorities had informed them of her abilities. Her body could absorb sunlight which she could unleash from her body, but a far more dangerous ability was an ability to produce explosive chemicals to augment her fire creation abilities. Logan didnt remember his personal life, but what he did remember was the smell of gun powder and the resulting explosions. As Alexis screamed, flames shot forth from her mouth and nose. And then her entire body erupted in a flash of fire. Colosssus was armoured up and Jean bought up her telekinetic bubble to protect herself and Scott. Wolverine was the only one without any physcial protection from the burns. There had been three instances in his life where he remembered feeling physical pain beyond what Weapon X had done to him. The first was a mission with Department H against a green monster that American scientists had created. Magneto was the second, using his mastery over metal he bent and twisted Logan's bones from the inside. But Alexis, she was just a girl with no control over her powers, and Logan was a man with a healing factor.

"AAAAAAAAAGH!" He yelled out, not like a wild animal but a main enduring incredible pain.

Fire burnt away his hair and skin, which regenerated even under the pressure of the fire. Wolverine's healing factor not only saved him from death but ensured that he would experience more pain than any other man could bear. Burnt flesh stang Piotr's nostrels and Jean and Cyclops did everything they could not to throw up. Gone was Wolverine's spandex, replaced by his naked form, a mixture of exposed muscle, bubbling and fiery flesh, and metal from teh Adamantium covering his bones. Blood dripped across the floor, bubbling like fried eggs. The metal began to change an orange colour, conducting the heat and burning away more flesh. Tears ran down Alexis's eyes and Logan saw a look he recognised. The look of a broken creature, one he had before and one that to this day he continued to fight. Now he had a new fight, to save a girl from her own demons. He marched forward, preparing to take a gamble over the nature of how Alexis's body and powers worked. She generated the flames and explosive chemicals but she wasnt burnt by them, because her own body adapted itself to cope with the flames. He wrapped his arms around her, bringing his mouth to her ear. By concentrating he focused his healing factor, regenerating his vocal chords as he spoke three words to the distraught girl.

"It'll be okay"

Slowly the flames faded and Alexis's tears died down as she gripped Logan's sizzling arm. Beast and Polaris approached the scene, looking at Logan with a mix of concern and disgust.

"Its all right darlin, nothing will hurt you here" Logan whispered.

"Oh god, I didnt even do anything and people continued to look at me with those eyes...like I was some kind of animal, its not fair!" Alexis said.

"I know darlin, its up to people like us to make the world just little bit fairer a little bit at a time"

The X-men lowered their guard and watched as the man whom many called a animal comforted a girl that was anything but an animal. Emma looked over the scene, crossing her arms as she swayed her hips, turning to Logan.

"The girl had it so hard didn't she?" Emma asked.

"SHUT UP FROST!" Logan yelled.

He grabbed the woman's neck and slammed her against the wall of the jet.

"You have no idea what she went through, you don't have the right to make fun of her…she kept on going strong, hoping that she would find something worth going on for, but in the end her chance at a happy life was ruined by this thing" Logan growled, pointing at Karl.

Xavier lowered his head, knowing that this would be Logan's reaction. Karl got up off the ground and walked over to Logan. He grabbed his wrist and placed it against his chest.

"Pop your claws out Logan and kill me, kill me if you think it's what I deserve or if it'll avenge Alexis in anyway" Karl said.

Logan growled, pushing Karl away and letting go of Emma. She coughed, rubbing her throat while Logan looked Karl in the eye.

"Your saying you weren't aware of what you were doing?" Logan asked.

"No!"

"That you didn't harbour any ill feelings to mutants?"

"Not that I'm aware of…I don't remember much after becoming a Sentinel hybrid" Karl said.

"You've lost some of your memories?"

"Yes!"

Logan lowered his head and snarled. He really wanted to hate Karl, but he couldn't help but see similarities between the two of them. Both had been robbed of their humanity and both had had their memories taken away. Alls Logan had was small flashes and contradictions. Sometimes he remembered breaking through a glass tube, other times he remembered roaring as he awoke from a pool of water. In both instances his muscles rippled and his claws ripped out of his knuckles. Wires had popped out of his spine as he tore himself from the machines that replaced his bones with metal.

Everything else had been a blur, and pure animal rage and instincts took over. Guards shot at him with rifles, but the bullets bounced off of his new bones. He jumped at his attackers, cutting their heads apart with single slashes and stabbing through their chests. Running across the labs and down the grounds, his vision blurred and foam dripped off of his mouth. He didn't differentiate between threat or innocent, no one was innocent in his eyes, everything had to die. His claws cut through the arms of scientists and the body armour of guards. Screams echoed around him, overriding the sound of gunfire. Bullets were merely flies and the air was filled with bodies for Logan to slash. Cutting through flesh with adamantium was like touching air, sometimes he would have to put more effort into his swings, and when he did he didnt just settle for a limb of a head. He needed every piece of his target, he hacked at them like an animal and let out a blood curdling roar.

Soon he was on top of a pile of bodies, some were soldiers, and others were scientists. He ran outside, the cold air did nothing to alter his berserker fury. Part of him heard the sounds of a chopper retreating from the area, but the animal part was in charge. And the animal demanded blood, running at the troops blocking his way. Blood stained his body as he sliced through the chests of the armed men. Their blood and organs leaked onto the ground and Logan, no the Weapon that they had created jumped on one of the commanders.

"GET THIS FUCKING ANIMAL OFF ME!" The commander yelled, stabbing his knife into Logan's neck.

But the knife did nothing and the bullets slamming against Weapon X's back were but flies. He slashed open the commander's chest, and then he moved onto the next man in his way, slicing his skull open. Logan yelled, his roar echoing through the grounds and through the ruined corridors of the facility. He slashed open the door in his way and ran through the woods, grunting and growling as he crawled underneath and jumped over trees. Blood dripped onto the snow as Logan moved naked through entire blizzards. Eventually his body gave way and the animal inside him quivered. Gone was the rage as he curled into a ball, rubbing his arms and back. Soon the snow covered his entire body and the rage faded till morning.

The rage returned when the sun had fully risen. Logan burst out of the snow, the sun shining in his eyes. The blood across his body had gone black and despite the cold his healing factor had prevented the diseases any normal man would have gone through. He walked across the snow, having no frostbite and he sniffed for his food, his sinuses clear and his senses as advanced as a wolf's. He growled as he saw a bear off in the distance. With a roar he ran towards the giant creature and jumped into a battle that was one sided. The bear though powerful was no match for the ultimate weapon controlled by the most ferocious animal.

Over the course of a year, Logan was but an animal, living off of prey, even travelling with a pack of wolves. But gradually the man took over and came to the surface when he saw his own kind. Men with guns, rounding up scientists of some kind. Logan crept through the bushes, growling as he saw the guns. They were rounding people up like animals, not only did it bring the animal rage but it also angered the man. Logan roared as he ran out of the bushes and leapt towards the gunmen. With blood and guts staining his body, Logan caught the attention of Department H and S.H.I.E.L.D, both agencies hunted for him over the course of several years, eventually Logan was caught by a S.H.I.E.L.D agent but handed over to Department H. They offered to help him, but they did little to help him recover his past. Xavier delivered on his promises and gave Logan a cause worth fighting for. And in turn, Logan found people worth calling friends.

Alexis was one of those friends and she always made Logan happy whenever she smiled. Logan walked back to the mansion after a mission, seeing Alexis kneeling by a tree. She smiled as Logan walked towards her, dumping his bag on the ground as he sat beside her. He reached for one of his cigars, holding it out for Alexis. With a click of her fingers, she set the tip of the cigar alight.

"Thanks Alexis, so what's up today?" Logan asked.

"I got fired from my job" Alexis said.

"What, what for?"

"The boss found out that I was a mutant, said he couldn't risk my powers getting out of control"

"That's bullshit, I'll have a talk with him!" Logan growled.

"No Logan don't bother, I didn't like it there anyway…I feel like I'm made for something better, sometimes I dream of being something better than this" Alexis said.

"Something like an X-man?" Logan asked.

"No and it's X-women, I think I can become something better than a hero, I keep having these recurring dreams about a knight coming to save me, eventually loving me" Alexis explained.

"Have you talked to the professor?"

"No, I know that these dreams may never come true, that's why I'm going to stand strong and find someone I can love and something I can fight for, maybe it's Xavier's dream or maybe its my own dream, but whatever it is I'll choose to fight for it'll be worth fighting for, worth living for" Alexis explained, smiling as she got up off the grass. "So Logan you really don't need to worry about me"

That was the last time she and Logan spoke, the last time Logan saw her smile. In the present, Logan sighed, walking back to the pilot seat. He looked over his shoulder at Karl, not hiding the rage in his eyes and voice.

"You pay for her death Karl, you find out who did this to you and you make them pay" He said.

Karl looked at his hands, hands that had been stained with the blood of innocent mutants. Then he looked at Logan and nodded, he had committed a terrible crime and he needed to pay the price, by being of use to the X-men. Logan deactivated the autopilot and took control of the jet again. Xavier sighed as he leant back into his seat. No one spoke, Emma didn't even comment on what had happened. It was an awkward and silent flight back to the mansion. Eventually the silence passed as they reached the mansion and panic spread across Xavier's face. The jet flew through a hanger bay built into the sea side rock that the mansion had been set on. Waiting at the hanger was Jean and Forge, the latter of which was making adjustments to some kind of high tech gun. Jean flew off the ground, closing her eyes as she moved her astral self into the jet.

**"Professor something terrible has happened with Scott's team" **Jean's telepathic cry echoed in the minds of Beast, Xavier and Logan.

"Jean please calm down" Xavier said.

**"No, I wont, Scott's and Warren are wounded and the others have been taken"**

"Taken, by who?" Logan asked.

Karl looked at the mutants in confusion, his mind was keeping Jean out so he couldnt see her astral form. Jean closed her eyes, showing images in the medical quarters. Scott was laid out on a bed with his eyes closed and a heart monitor at his side. Warren had his shirt off and was getting bandages wrapped around his chest by Sage. Bobby and Morph were waiting outside, waiting for news on their friends.

"Oh no!" Xavier said

"They've been taken" Said Jean.

"Jean get the students we discussed earlier together, regretably we must begin project New X-men early"

Next Chapter 14: Kidnapping and rescue

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the rewrite, next chapter we'll see some more drama and the promotion of a few students to X-men


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

* * *

The Dream We Share

Chapter 13: Kidnapping and rescue

The last thing Cyclops remembered was fighting a man who claimed to be Untouchable. His optic blasts flew true, slamming into the head of the grey skinned man. But the man truly was untouchable, his tattoos glowing as he held back the blast with a single hand. Colossus swung a fist towards the Feral sisters, but the two girls jumped over him, tackling Wolfsbane. Detonator clapped his hands together, creating an explosion that knocked Colossus back. Random grunted in pain as his arms bent and twisted, forming three barrelled cannons. He fired the cannons, letting loose the yellow energy built up inside his body. Beak quickly flew upwards, dodging the beams as they splashed against the swamp.

"What do you say sister, should we play with her for a bit?" Thorn asked, licking the blood on her nails.

"She looks like she's had some experience, Wild Child will like her" Feral giggled.

Rahne growled, her fur rising as she leapt at the two sisters. She tackled Feral, snapping her jaws inches away from her face. Right now there was no reason, no Rahne Sinclair, only the wolf. Feral slashed Wolfsbane across the chest, forcing her back only slightly, but that didn't stop the wolf. She got on all fours and jumped on Feral's shoulders. When she jumped off, Feral stumbled forwards, almost falling into the water. She hissed at the dog, which growled back, baring a jaw more powerful than a wolf's.

"Who are you?" Cyclops asked, firing another blast into Unus.

But Unus kept on walking forward, ignoring the red beams like flies.

"We are the ones whom will defend the mutant race, we are the Brotherhood" Unus said.

"What? The Brotherhood!" Colossus said.

"Yes my dear Colossus, we are the Brotherhood, the true defenders of the mutant race" A sensual and soothing voice said.

Lorelei appeared from behind Piotr, rubbing his shoulders with her left hand. Her yes glowed a yellow colour as she bought her mouth to his ear.

"We are the ones you should be fighting with" She whispered.

Piotr didn't know what came over him. He listened to the woman's beautiful voice, finding himself entranced in her words. She was right, he shouldn't fight with the X-men, he should be fighting for her. He turned to Polaris just as she began to regain consciousness. Lorna widened her eyes as Piotr raised his fist.

"Piotr what are you doing?" She asked.

"Don't kill her Colossus, just knock her out" Lorelei said.

"Yes mistress" Piotr said.

Lorna threw her hands forward, creating a green blast that sent Colossus flying back. With glowing eyes and hands she threw Colossus into Random, allowing Beak to stop his manoeuvres. He swooped downwards, grabbing Detonator's shoulders with his talons. With the speed of an eagle he threw towards Random, dropping Detonator on top of him as he got up off the floor. Then he flew through the trees, heading straight towards Unus's back.

"BEAK DON'T!" Scott yelled.

But his cries were too late, as Beak slammed head first into an invisible wall. Unus grinned as Beak slid off the wall, landing in a broken heap underneath the water.

"BARNELL!" Scott yelled out before firing his optic beam.

"You should be more worried about yourself Summers" Unus said, using his hand to deflect the blast into Scott's chest.

Scott coughed as he fell into the river. He rolled to his feet, his hair and uniform soaked as he fired another blast. This time Unus deflected the blast into a nearby tree, splitting it half. Then he let go of Rogue and ran towards the X-men's leader. He slammed his fist into Cyclops's gut, and then slapped him across the face. Cyclops's visor shattered and on instinct he closed his eyes. Unus kneed Cyclops in the gut, gripping his hair and throwing him into the water.

His whole world had been ringing when he was pulled from the water. Unus slapped him across the face again, smiling at his discomfort. The tattooed man then slammed Cyclops's head against a tree and lifted him by his hair.

"This is what happens when you choose to be the nice guy Summers, you get nothing but ill treatment, this is our fate if we follow you" Unus said.

Polaris fired magnetic blasts at Lorelei, whom flew around the blasts. Her eyes glowed a yellow colour and he hair moved as if it was alive. Lorna charged another blast in her hands but widened her eyes as Lorelei lunged towards her. She wrapped her arms around the X-women, touching Lorna's nose with hers.

"You don't want to fight me Polaris, you want to stop fighting all of us" She said.

Lorna's body relaxed as she listened to Lorelei's heavenly voice. She stopped hovering, falling to her knees with Lorelei still holding her.

"Listen to me Polaris, there's something I need you to do for me" Lorelei said, whispered her instructions into Lorna's ear.

Lorna nodded her head as Lorelei spoke, unable to resist her orders. When Lorelei let go, it seemed as if Lorna was but a puppet to her instructions. Cyclops opened his eyes, unleashing a full spectrum blast on Unus. The red haze consumed Unus and decimated the river and trees behind him. Cyclops closed his eyes, gasping in shock as a fist slammed into his gut. Unus laughed, having survived the blast he threw Cyclops to the floor again.

"Nice try Summers but once again your X-men prove that they cant do what needs to be done for our people" Unus said.

"Our people, you would kidnap that girl and hold her against her will" Cyclops said.

"She has powers that could make her the most powerful addition to Magneto's army"

"Magneto!"

Wolfsbane leapt at Thorn, ready to sink her teeth in. But much to Rahne's shock Colossus slammed his fist into her chest, throwing her onto the branch of a tree. She coughed out a puddle of blood as she changed back into her human form. Lorelei stayed by Polaris's side as they approached Unus and Cyclops.

"In this day and age Summers you either join the fight or get left behind, in other words your either with us or against us" Unus said.

He dropped Scott to the ground and stepped aside as Polaris walked behind her leader. With glowing green hands she grabbed the sides of his head. Scott yelled out in agony as the green energy surged in his brain.

* * *

Xavier closed his eyes as Jean bought him out of Scott's last memory. He sat in his student's room, looking over his recovery with Warren, Bobby and Jean. His first student was laid out on a bed, with heart and brain monitors at his side.

"I heard him screaming Professor, they used Polaris to scramble Scott's brain, putting him into a…" Jean stopped, rubbing her face as she leant against the wall.

"They forced him into a coma, thus leaving the X-men without a leader, but I accounted for this" Xavier said.

"Pretty much 3 quarters of our team being kidnapped by the Brotherhood, that's a lot of foresight Professor" Warren said.

"Your sure it was Magneto's Brotherhood?" Xavier asked.

"Only one of the original members, Wild Child, I'd never forget him"

Warren lowered his head and both Jean and Xavier looked at his memories, willingly given to them.

* * *

As Angel, Warren had been flying across Jubilee's hometown, waiting for Sam to make contact with Jubilee's social service worker. He waited for them to make radio contact. But he'd already been flying around for at least an hour and Sam still hadn't made contact. Something had happened.

"Dazzler, what's going on down there?" Angel asked.

There was no response, and that told Warren all that he needed to know. He dived downwards, wind rushing through his face as he flew towards Jubilee's house. Even through the wind, he heard the sounds of crashing furniture. The roof of the house was suddenly blown open. Warren widened his eyes, watching as Cannonball desperately tried to move an unstoppable object.

"Cain!" Xavier said, narrowing his eyes at the image.

It was his stepbrother and a very powerful mutant. Using magic he had boosted his mutant powers, becoming the unstoppable Juggernaut. He wore brown armour with knuckle-dusters and a dome shaped helmet with holes for his mouth and eyes. Once he had started moving, nothing could stop him, even Cannonball's powers. Juggernaut grabbed Sam's head and slammed him against the wall.

"Alison!" Warren said, swooping downwards towards the house.

He landed in the living room, and then rushed into the kitchen. His eyes widened as he looked at his teammate. She was barely conscious, chunks of her hair were missing and parts of her clothes were ripped off. Numerous deep cuts had covered her body; a deep cut across her cheek would no doubt leave a permanent scar. Warren grinded his teeth together, running a hand across Alison's face.

"She put up quite a fight you know, its too bad I didn't have time to do anything else with her!"

Angel turned his head, glaring at the man standing at the fridge. He was licking blood off of his fingernails, and then taking bites from cold mincemeat he had taken from the fridge. Blonde dirty locks rested on his shoulders, his razor sharp teeth pressed together in a sickening grin. A black suit covered his body, with rings on his nipples and long elf life ears.

"Wild Child!" Warren growled.

"The one and only" Wild Child grinned.

He stuffed the meat into his mouth and rushed forward. Wild Child slashed Angel across the side of his chest, just as he got up off the floor. Angel punched Wild Child across the face, and then flapped his wings. The pure strength of his wings threw Wild Child into the fridge, jars of cream and meat falling onto his head. Wild Child snarled, throwing a packet of cream into Angel's face. Then Wild Child ran forward, tackling Angel and flying straight through the kitchen window.

"This was supposed to be a bag and grab mission, if you want to turn it into kill every fucking X-man then be my guest" Wild Child said.

Suddenly, Juggernaut crashed through the wall, still holding Sam by his head. He slammed the young X-man against the ground, continuing to smash him until his body went limp.

"Believe me Wild Child, I would like nothing more than to kill every last one of these kids, but Magneto gave us a mission and we have to carry it out" Juggernaut said.

"You hear that little Angel, tell Xavier to come alone to the abandoned missile test sight, he'll know which one" Wild Child said, slamming Angel's head against the stone pavement.

* * *

Xavier lowered his head at the memory. He hadn't been in contact with Magneto for several months. But he had never accounted for Magneto to go on the move again, recruiting mutants for a war against humanity. Xavier patted Warren's shoulder and rolled out of the medical bay. Sage walked beside him, both telepaths using their powers to communicate with one another.

"**Sage, gather the students on the list that I gave you" **Xavier said.

Sage nodded her head and walked into the elevator while Xavier rolled to Cerebro. The door scanned his eyes and opened for him. He rolled in the giant circular chamber, towards the button less console and helmet. Putting the helmet on, Xavier activated the machine with a single thought. He closed his eyes, closing the door at the same time. Magnetic waves worked in conjunction with his telepathy, amplifying his powers and stretching across the planet. His eyes widened as he saw Wild Child slashing Sam across the chest. The other captured X-men were chained to walls with Unus and his Brotherhood standing in front of them. Suddenly, an image flashed in Xavier's eyes, throwing him out of the vision. He breathed heavily, sweat running down his brow.

'Magnus, what have you done?' he wondered.

The temperature in the dojo was hotter than most could handle. Some of the paintings on the wall were even beginning to melt as he slammed his elbow into the post. His hands moved around the smaller poles on the post, slamming into every part of the post. There was no sweat on his body, but there was a fire in his eyes that was more than metaphorical. Swinging his leg around he slammed the limb into the side of the pole releasing small sparks of fire. Sage walked into the dojo, tilting her glasses as she walked towards her recruit. He turned around, his eyes narrowing at the American woman. The Japanese Woman caught the X badge that Sage thrown, looking at the symbol in disdain.

"Shiro Yoshida, you are needed, you are a new X-man Sunfire!" Sage said.

Shiro sighed, walking away from the post as the side he kicked began to melt. Sage walked through the corridors of the mansion, crossing her arms together as Kurt hung off of the wall. His tail was wrapped around a chandelier and he was reading a book upside down.

"Kurt Wagner…"

Kurt squawked as he fell off the chandelier. Sage stood straight and still as Kurt got off the floor, looking at her.

"Kurt Wagner, you are now a New X-man Nightcrawler!"

Kurt widened his eyes in confusion, looking at Sage with a questioning look.

"What?" he asked.

"Report to the war room" Sage said.

Despite his confusion Kurt teleported, leaving Sage to find the next mutant on her list. She walked up the stairs towards the attic where Ororo's garden was set up. The young woman was tending to her plants, using a small cloud of rain to water some of them. Ororo turned to the door, smiling as Sage entered.

"Miss Sage, how can I help you?" Ororo asked.

"Its time Storm, you are now part of the new X-men"

Sage opened the window, looking out for the last of the graduating students. When a nearby tree shook she knew she had found her man. After a short walk outside of the grounds Sage saw who she was looking for. His shirt was resting on a tree branch and his hair was hanging over his shoulders. Pulling his arm back he threw a blade into a tree. The knife had a guard with spikes on it and a black grip.

"John Proudstar, you know of Xavier's policy on weapons" Sage said.

"So do you Tess, that doesn't stop you from keeping a gun under your pillow" He said, turning around the face the woman.

He stood over her by at least a foot and his muscles would have had any girl gasping. But it was nothing Sage hadn't seen before.

"Call me Sage Warpath!"

"Forget Warpath, I want a name I can live up to as an X-man, Warpath is the name for a thug or a hotshot…save it for my brother if he ends up coming here" John said.

He had Native American ancestry, a fact he was proud of from the Totem tattooed to his chest. It was a bird, the Thunderbird of the tribe John's family originated from. Grabbing the knife and strapping it to his belt he walked over to where his shirt was hanging up. Sage showed no emotion as he looked back at her.

"Xavier respects privacy and you can hide both our minds from other telepaths so…what are we worrying about?" John asked.

"Now isn't the time for this John, you must focus your attention on the mission you will soon receive" Sage said, turning her back and walking away from the young man.

John sighed as he put his shirt back on and walked after his teacher. Soon the New X-men recruits gathered in the war room. Xavier soon rolled into the room with Jean dressed in her own X-men uniform. It was a sleeveless blue top with a gold collar connected to a red and black X on her chest, two gold gloves with blue sleeves to her elbows and blue trousers with a gold belt and gold boots. Her hair was tied up in a ponytail and her arms were crossed as she looked at the gathered mutants.

"Xavier, why these four?" Jean asked.

"Ororo, in training exercises you've excelled as a leader and Shiro while your pride and anger needs adjustment you have the potential to become a tempered and competent fighter, John you've already had hand to hand training and your discipline and dedication is almost as great as Kurt's, Kurt you have the greatest faith and the greatest patience I have ever known, and your agility and teleportation powers are tactical assets I can not overlook" Xavier explained.

The four were taken aback by Xavier's praise. He didn't often praise his students but when he did it always made them smile. Xavier rolled forward, clicking a button on the remote he carried. Glass cases shot out of the ground, revealing X-men uniforms. Black suits with gold X's, gold gloves and boots with wrappings around the wrists and heels.

"I know I am asking much of you, but the original X-men team has been kidnapped and right now we need all the help we can get, which is why I'm sending Jean with you as leader as well as Wolverine and Forge's assistant Karl"

"WHAT!" Karl yelled, staring at Forge in disbelief.

"You heard me, they need all the help you can get and I know you've got a dozen ways of fighting programmed into you" Forge said, casually heaving parts over towards his work space.

"Your wrong Forge, I have approximately a hundred and seventy six thousand nine hundred and eighty six methods of killing people and my android brain is developing even more methods based on opportunities that present themselves in the field, I'm not X-men material" Karl explained.

Forge shook his head as Karl walked towards the door. He removed a gun with a rectangular barrel and aimed it at the door. Suddenly a green beam erupted from the gun, slamming into the wall inches from Karl's head. Karl turned around, his hands twitching as he fought the urge to choke the inventor.

"Like it, it reacts to DNA, once this sucker makes contact with human skin it'll stun them, I call it the neutraliser" Forge smiled, throwing the pistol to Karl.

"And it'll take down the Brotherhood members?" Karl asked.

"Yep, although you might need a few extra shots for the durable ones" Forge said.

"All right, but do keep in mind that those Reaver's damaged my body"

"That's why I've made some parts for extra protection, just step on that platform there" Forge pointed to an X shaped platform that Karl knew hadn't been there before.

He stepped onto the platform, watching as arms popped out of the ground. They held pieces of yellow and black armour and clamped it to his chest, shoulders, knees, calves, back, thighs and the front of his face. The armoured mask had a black X across it.

"The HUD gives you a link to your other team mates, notice the heart monitors, each one of your team mates is wearing a suit I've made in order to account for their powers and to monitor their health on the field" Forge explained.

"Are you coming with us?" Karl asked.

"Nope, you'll be there in my stead, after all you are my "assistant"" Forge said.

"So I'm basically a temporary X-man?"

"We could make it permanent if you want"

"Sorry, but I'm no hero"

"And yet you're going to save the X-men"

"It's only logical that I support the people helping me" Karl said.

He clicked the neutraliser to a holster on his hip and walked out of the workshop. The "New" X-men were already waiting for him, dressed in their X-men uniforms. Storm tied her hair into a ponytail while John lazily strapped a knife to his belt. Karl noticed that Kurt was holding a cross of some kind and muttering a prayer. They acknowledged his presence, though only Ororo smiled. The students had thought of him as Forge's assistant, X-719, a moniker that Karl had thought up on the spot. Wolverine walked out of the changing room, wearing a black shirt with yellow slashes on the shoulders, a pair of gloves and a military style fatigues and boots. Even though he didn't have the frightening mask he was still an intimidating man. Then again a healing factor and metal claws were intimidating enough without a mask with red eyes.

"Jean, you'll be taking command in this mission, Sage will give us Intel and warning's with her telepathy while you formulate a rescue plan" Wolverine said.

"Actually Logan, I will be leading but X here will make a rescue plan" Jean said.

If Karl could experience shock he would have, but strangely he wasn't surprised. He stepped forward, bowing his head to his temporary teammates as Beast walked out of his changing room. The blue furred young man was wearing a yellow and blue jumpsuit without sleeves or boots.

"What have I missed?" He asked.

Wolverine growled but stayed quiet, knowing not to question Jean's intuition. She led the team to the X-jet and telekinetically put the plane through its launch procedure. Kurt nervously sat on his seat, clinging to it with his toes while Shiro kept his eyes closed, remaining in a Zen like state. Karl and Beast sat together, looking at a screen showing Sage in her mission control centre. She sat on a chair with numerous holographic interfaces around her.

"Xavier has done a sweep of the area using Cannonball's eyes, they are being held captive at a crashed plane hanging off the edge of a cliff" Sage began.

"Ah it seems the rules of physics and time are not on our side comrades" Beast said.

"That is correct Beast, the Brotherhood is using outdated suppression collars, they are easy to get off but the X-men are restrained, Lorelei is using mind control against Colossus and Polaris while Wild Child is torturing the other X-men" Sage explained.

"Then we need to get there quick!" Jean said, flying the jet out of the hanger.

Kurt squeaked while John grumbled, holding in his lunch. In fact all of the team was experiencing some discomfort. Logan was a good pilot but he didn't like flying, and he was suspicious of Karl. Kurt was frightened not just by the prospect of crashing but also for the fates of their friends. Ororo shared Kurt's fears, but also the jet seemed very small to her, it was as if the walls were closing in around her. She took deep breaths, trying to keep her claustrophobia under control. John didn't know why, but he hated planes, he had the superstition that they would be the death of him. Hank was concerned for his friends as well as the stability of the team; though they may live they might never recover from the psychological scars.

Jean didn't know why but she was angry, not just with the Brotherhood but with her other team mates as well. She felt that if they weren't there then she wouldn't have to hold back. Though she recommended Karl she had doubts that he could save all of their friends. And then there was Scott, knowing that he had been hurt by these terrorists made her blood boil and her heart pound in concern and fury.

Only Karl felt nothing, he wasn't concerned and he wasn't afraid. Right now there was no fear, only logic. They had an affective team and reliable Intel. He didn't hope or prayer that they would succeed, he knew they would succeed not out of belief but out of logic.

* * *

Emma Frost really wanted to question the X-men on their logic. Xavier and Jean put their lives in the hands of an android, one that had killed a large majority of the students. And yet they were willing to forgive him. The X-men were foolish dreamers, but Xavier did have a good eye for talent. Scott Summers had the potential to be a great leader; Emma saw that from his dossier. But if he didn't wake up from his coma the only thing he would be was a waste of resources. A brain dead husk kept in the basement.

'Well Charles if you wont play god then I will' Emma thought.

Warren was asleep and Bobby was with the other students. Sage was busy in "mission control" and Xavier was tracking the Brotherhood and other mutant movements. She released the locks on Scott's bed, spinning the bed round and away from the wall and heart monitors. The wires were ripped from his chest, a remarkably toned piece of art to Emma. She folded her jacket and walked behind Scott's bed. Planting her hands on the sides of his head, Emma closed her eyes.

Scott's eyes opened and he found himself strangely in the heat of a desert. He was wearing his visor and a simple pair of boxers, which was a relief because of this smouldering heat. The desert sand feel smooth against his feet, and the sight of the pyramids and sphinxes were incredible. He could imagine seeing the landmarks from the air.

"Oh please dear, don't tell me that's the only thing you find incredible"

Cyclops widened his eyes as he was lifted off the sand. This strange force flew him over the Sphinx and put him straight on the landmark's back. He stared at the one whom brought him into this dream. She sat in a hot tub, stark naked as she rubbed bubbles through her hair. Emma Frost smirked as Scott admired her perfect hips, her succulent breasts and her dazzling hair.

"Would you like to come in darling?" She asked.

Scott stepped back, covering his eyes as Emma got out of the tub. She laughed as he continued to keep on his gentlemanly attitude. The bubbles covered her breast, spreading across her body to form a white corset and pantyhose.

"You can open your eyes now Scott" Emma said.

Cyclops opened his eyes and looked at Emma as she slipped on a pair of thigh high boots. Her body was perfect, as if she came from every adolescence boy's fantasy. Emma walked over to him, placing a hand on his chest. She trailed her finger over his muscles, smiling as his face stiffened.

"We both like what we see huh?"

"Um, I'm not sure the Sphinx has a bathtub on it" Scott said, rubbing his hair as he backed away.

"No, but here in this little place of mine I can make anything I want, Egypt, Paris!" Emma said as the scenery changed around them.

A tuxedo appeared over Scott as he now found himself on the Eiffel tower. Emma looked out at the landscape, not admiring it but simply allowing the wind to blow her hair. Scott continued to look at her, and quite frankly she liked having him look at her. Turning towards him, she invited him to sit at a round dinner table. He complied, sitting in front of her, trying to hide his nerves.

"You're the leader of the X-men and yet you're the one person who can't save them because your stuck in your own mind" Emma explained.

"Lorna, she did something to my head" Scott said.

"She magnetically rearranged the molecules of your brain, I'm putting them back together bit by bit, but in order to do that I need to have access to some aspects of your mind"

"Your not going to go too deep are you?" Scott asked.

"Oh don't be a stiff Scott, although the disciplined attitude does suit you I think sometimes you need to let your hair down" Emma said.

Again the scenery shifted as Emma slipped on a pair of elbow high gloves. They were walking through the gardens of the school grounds, watching young mutant children run past.

"A beautiful little scene isn't it Scott, is this your view of Xavier's dream?" Emma asked.

"It's what Xavier described to me when we first stepped into the mansion, I was a kid then, barely two years had passed since I had woken up from a coma, my parents were dead and my brother was lost…I hated the orphanage so I took comfort at night over this image that Xavier described to me" Scott explained.

Much to Scott's shock, Xavier appeared before him.

"Not just a school but a symbol of harmony and unity, where young mutants and eventually one humans can learn more about one another, where they can eventually learn to better both themselves and the world…that is what I dream of" He had said, speaking like a man picturing his far off vision.

Emma scoffed as she clicked her fingers. The scene faded and instead came to the danger room. A hairless Beast jumped from railing to railing and platform to hover disc as he ran away from multiple tentacles. Jean floated across the hall, rubber balls bouncing off of her telekinetic barrier. Warren flew through a series of hoops, diving underneath a platform and avoiding another as it shot up. Bobby changed his skin to ice as two guns popped out of the floor. They fired a volley of bullets that harmlessly bounced off of Bobby's skin. Finally Scott stepped up to a targeting range and fired both thin beams and wide arc blasts to destroy a variety of different sized targets.

As they watched the memory of the original X-men's first training session Scott took note of the scoff across Emma's face. She crossed her arms as the scene changed again to the X-men rushing to the aid of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents as AIM troopers fired at them. With another scene shift Scott saw his encounter with Magneto for the first time. The master of magnetism attempted to launch a nuclear missile, but astonishingly Jean had used her telekinesis to trap the missile in a telekinetic bubble. Emma raised her eyebrows in shock as she watched the red haired girl scream, her eyes glowing orange as she contained the intensity of a nuclear blast. Magneto had been taken back by the show of power just long enough for Cyclops to fire a blast through his barrier. Emma sighed as she changed the scene to a simple white void.

"This is what I'm getting at Scott, the struggle you X-men go through and what is the gain?" Emma asked.

"We save lives, that's the only gain we need" Scott said.

"And yet you can't save yourselves, Jean has taken an object that tried to kill every last student here and has trusted it with saving your team mates" Emma explained.

"Then they're in good hands"

"How so?"

"Its not Karl, its Jean who I have faith in, she'll save all of them"

"Well at least you're not idiotic enough to put your faith in a can opener"

"What does this have do to with waking me up Emma?" Scott asked.

"I'll need to go really deep in order to reconnect your mind Scott, trust me darling by the time I'm done you'll be better than a whole new man"

Scott backed away as he saw the sensual smirk across her face. His conscience told him not to get involved with this girl, but his instincts told him otherwise.

* * *

He wasn't nervous for nerves did not exist. There was no fright because fear was an emotion. His body remained still, never once shaking and never once hesitating. And his mind was clearly forming a plan, analysing the situation, thinking over other situations and creating a strategy to utilise every asset he had to fulfil the objective. Gone was Karl's human doubt as his eye lenses glowed, focusing on the digitised map Sage had made of the Brotherhood base. The X-men stood around him and paid attention as he began in a deep, emotionless and of course "robotic" tone.

"Here is the plan"

Next Chapter 14: Saving

**Accessing Files**

**Sentinel Programming active**

**New Data available-reassesed target list**

**X-men**

**Jean Grey-Target designate Phoenix-Omega Level threat**

**Robert Drake-Iceman**

**Henry McCoy-Beast**

**Kurt Wagner-Designate Nightcrawler**

**John Proudstar-Designate Thunderbird**

**Ororo Munroe-Designate Storm**

**Shiro Yoshida-Designate Sunfire**

**Incapacitated X-men**

**Scott Summers**

**Warren Worthington**

**Target...ERROR...programming corrupt, unknown list**

**Charles Xavier**

**Sage**

**Emma Frost**

**Update-Remaining Xavier students**

**Vergil Wallace**

**Noah Kevinson**

**Noriko Ashida**

**Sofia Montega**

**Laura Collins**

**Katherine Pryde**

**Monet St. Croix**

**Maxwell Jordan**

**Julian Keller**

**Kevin Ford**

**Kevin Sydney**

**Remy Lebeau**

**Update-New Data-Former student locations**

**Everett Thomas-Deceased-Buried Southern California**

**Alexis Princeton-Deceased-pending burial**

**Selene Gallio-Location known-London, United Kingdom**

**Valeria Richards-Baxter Building**

**Remaining students relocated, inactive as of current time**

* * *

Next time Karl and the New X-men fight to save their fellow team members while Emma pieces Scott's mind together bit by bit. But a bigger threat is on the horizon as Xavier meets with the orchestrator of this attack face to face


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

* * *

The Dream we Share

Chapter 14: Saving

Many years ago, Xavier met a young man that shared his dream. Eric Magnus Lensherr was an expert in the field of genetics and a lecturer at Oxford University. Charles had long discovered his mutant abilities of telepathy and had already composed a method of using his telepathy for the good of the planet. The man who would later take the name Magneto wasn't a lecturer in science, but rather in history. Many young academics would come to listen to his lectures of 1930's era Germany. As a young boy he had lived through the depression, the rise of Hitler and the Nazis and more importantly the holocaust itself.

"Take note that while Adolph Hitler was both a dictator and a madman before he was given these labels he was an intelligent and popular leader for leading the country out of its economic downfall, while he preached about the superiority of Germany he was in fact Austrian, the master race concept of the Nazis had many holes in it, one might say that Hitler himself was a hypocrite but the aim of your assignment is not to debate whether he was sane or not but to provide me with a full and detailed report on The Auschwitz camp" Eric explained to the eager young minds.

Charles stood at the back of the lecture hall, dressed in a beige suit and legs that he had often used in athletics. When Eric finished the lecture, Charles walked past several students and straight towards the man's desk.

"Eric Lensherr I presume" Charles said.

"Yes and you would be…"

"Charles Xavier, good lecture"

"Thank you Mr Xavier" Eric said, putting his notes in his case.

"Actually I'll soon be Professor Xavier, but that's neither here nor there, I recently saw you provide a detailed report and lecture at the UN summit, I was quite impressed with your knowledge on the mutant phenomenon" Charles explained.

Eric strapped up his case and looked at Charles for a moment. The young man had a head of brown hair and dark rings under his eyes. It was either a reflection of a hard working individual or a lazy man who barely got by. But Eric saw a fire in this young man's eyes. Something told him that Charles was speaking to him out of more than just professional admiration.

"Yes I did deliver a speech, however I fear that speech went on deaf ears" Eric said.

The man ran a hand over his black hair and once again looked at Charles. He seemed as if he wanted to speak with him about something, so Eric chose to humour him for a while.

"What exactly do you know about the "mutant phenomenon" Xavier?" Eric asked.

"I know that there have been cases of rumoured mutant sightings that have gone so far back as world war two, I also know that the first recorded mutant is on the island nation of Genosha, a nation which isn't part of the United Nations" Charles said.

"Yes, come and walk with me Xavier"

"Please call me Charles"

"Very well Charles, what you probably don't know is that the nation of Genosha is slowly falling into a civil war state and that it has the largest recorded population of mutants in the Atlantic region, once again we use the word recorded, why is that?" Eric asked.

Charles smiled; he asked the question like a teacher waiting for his student to answer. And Charles eagerly answered the question.

"Right now America isn't prepared to admit that many young citizens within the ages of thirteen to eighteen have begun to show signs of X-gene manifestations, governments have gotten a hold of blood work of over one thousand American citizens and has confirmed that twenty percent of every one thousand shows signs of both the X-gene and latent X-genes, meaning that those few who have a latent gene will pass on that gene to their children whom will develop the full X-gene" Charles explained.

Eric stopped at the doorway to leave the lecture hall and looked at Charles in surprise.

"How did you get a hold of such information?"

"**Your not the only one with a secret Max!"**

A smirk crossed Eric's face as he opened the door.

"This could be the start of a beautiful friendship Charles, tea or coffee?" Eric asked.

"Coffee please, it'll give us all the energy we need to discuss this idea I have" Charles said.

After all the years that had passed, Charles still believed that Eric, now Magneto was still his friend. At one time they called one another "friend" then there came a time when they called each other "brother". Now it seemed inevitable that Charles would never hear those terms again from his old friend. Once they were men with clear dreams and they had drawn clear lines in how they would achieve those dreams. One a telepath could provide more pain relief than any morphine. The other controlled metal and magnetic waves. Eric also had a physical manifestation of his power, white hair that he had kept hidden with a black wig. However when the two friends went to Genosha as doctors Eric took on the name Magnus and no longer hid his magnificent white hair.

"Doctor we have too many patients here and Hodges men are within days of the clinic" A male assistant said, carelessly bandaging the wounds of a shrapnel victim.

"Get out of the way you idiot, Charles I need your help with this woman" Magnus said.

"Yes Eric" Charles was the only one who called him by that name.

They never hid their powers as they healed their patients. Magnus would magnetically discover where a bullet had hit and Charles would calm the patients with telepathy. More often than not time was the only factor that resulted in patient death. They were accomplished medical doctors, but even they couldn't do anything for patients that had infected wounds and pierced organs. Magnus had been growing increasingly distressed with the pressure of the work, as well as his own memories of the Holocaust. Hodge's men were taking people, mutant and human alike from their homes. No one knew what had happened to them, but Magnus was suspicious of what had happened. He believed they were being put into camps.

"Doctor Xavier, the soldiers are coming we need to get out of here" One assistant said.

"We have a duty to these patients, we're not running away" Charles said.

The sounds of gunshots were getting closer and closer towards the clinic. Charles reached out with his telepathy and widened his eyes. Soldiers kicked down the doors and marched into the clinic. Xavier continued to operate on a patient while his assistant stood to attention.

"You, your American aren't you?" The commander of the soldiers asked.

"I'm a doctor and I have patients, if you have injured men I will be happy to treat them" Xavier said.

"You are treating enemy soldiers"

"They are sick, injured and in need of help"

"Turn around and look me in the eyes when you say that"

Charles only turned slightly, not taking his hands away from his patient.

"Please Commander, I have a job to do, I will not interfere in yours" Charles said.

The commander smiled as he drew his pistol and pointed it at one of the patients.

"Its good to know I can still do my job" He said.

Charles turned away as he heard the gunshot. The patients around him screamed and panicked while the assistant ducked for cover. Xavier looked at the patient and breathed a sigh of relief. The commander and his soldiers looked at the patient in shock as the bullet floated inches away from his head. They then turned towards Magnus and widened their eyes. His eyes glowed a red colour while red vapour rose from his hands. He squeezed his hands into a fist, generating a magnetic pulse that picked up the soldiers and every metal object in the clinic.

"Enough, NO MORE!" Magnus yelled.

He threw his hand forward, throwing the soldiers straight through the wall of the clinic. Magnus walked forward, looking at the soldiers in fury as old shrapnel and surgical knives floated around him. The magnetic mutant walked over the rocks and looked down at the soldiers as they coward. Charles rushed outside, looking at his friend in a different light. His anger had reached its limit, generations of hate and segregation had cultivated into this one man whom said "enough if enough".

"Magnus wait" Charles said.

"They wont let any of our patients live" Magus growled.

"Stop Eric"

"MY NAME IS MAGNUS!"

He raised his arms and the metallic fragments around him lined up, facing the soldiers.

"NO!" Charles yelled.

Xavier stepped in the way, putting his hands to his head and lashing out with his telepathy. Psionic and Magnetic waves clashed and Magnus yelled, stepping back as his shrapnel fell to the floor. Charles helped his friend off the floor, using his telepathy to command the soldiers to walk away.

"You should have let me do it" Magnus said.

"I couldn't my friend, don't you see? We have to be better than them, if we want peace we cant rise to their level" Charles explained.

"You're a fool Charles, look around you, look at this place, they cant even make peace with each other"

At the time, Charles chose to stay with his friend to see if he could guide him down a gentler path. But as years passed and tragedy after tragedy struck eventually the two friends went down separate roads. And now their dreams clashed, Charles knew that not only were the lives of his students at stake but also the life of a man he once called brother. Charles rolled towards one of the X-men mini jets with a mission of his own. Save the man called Eric Lensherr.

* * *

Rahne woke up with a groan as she looked at her surroundings. Tears fell down her eyes as she felt Wild Child licking her ear. The feral man traced a hand down her chest, towards her thighs. Detonator punched Sam's back, with Feral recording the torture.

"Stop this" Beak said.

"Trust me, this is a massage compared to what the Church of Humanity did to me" Detonator said.

Lorelei sat on a bed, with both Polaris and Colossus kneeled beside her. She yawned as Random chained Beak to the wall.

"What does this accomplish?" Jubilee asked.

"We're just showing you and Rogue here what happens when you play the good guy, isn't it so much better to be the giver instead of the taker?" Thornn asked.

Unus watched the scene from afar, keeping his arms crossed and his face emotionless. Thornn and Feral were students of Wild Child's so torture as a form of enjoyment had been hammered into their minds. Rogue struggled under her chains, moaning as she still felt Cody's mind. Jubilee closed her eyes, trying not to watch as Feral and Thornn scratched at Beak.

"Such a cute birdy isn't he?" Feral asked.

"Yeah sis, lets play with him for a bit"

Wild Child looked at his students and laughed before turning his attention back to Rahne. He grabbed her chin, bringing their faces closer together.

"Even with the power dampener on you can still feel the animal cant you? Why fight it I say, you and I could have some real fun, more fun than you've ever had" Wild Child explained.

Rahne cringed underneath Wild Child's grip. She kept on looking to Dazzler, scratched and scarred by this mad man. The young Scottish girl had to look at something she despised, because she couldn't stop the animal part of her mind feeling a lust for the feral man. His teeth were sharp, his body strong and powerful and that smell he gave off.

'No, stop it Rahne don't think like that' She thought.

Juggernaut huffed as he watched the scene; he wasn't one for torture or abuse. After all he himself had experienced abuse from his father. He wasn't prepared to make another person suffer like the Brotherhood was. But part of his contract was sticking around to teach the young kids what happened when they "played the good guys". Lorelei was looking bored as she continued to watch the respective beating and scarring of Cannonball and Beak. She motioned for Piotr to come to her and he gladly obliged his mistress. Her hands crept across his back as he kissed her neck.

"Oh if only all men were like you Rasputin" She said.

She ripped off his shirt and raked her nails across his neck. Their tongues wrestled for dominance, causing Juggernaut to turn away in disgust. Unus looked up at Rogue and much to her shock he grabbed her chin.

"We are both untouchable Marie, maybe that's for a reason, maybe we are the only ones who can give one another what they need" Unus said.

Lorelei pushed Piotr to the bed and looked for the fly for his trousers. But then a sudden thought crossed her mind. She walked over to a number of torture and bondage equipment and picked out a collar.

"Disgusting bitch" Juggernaut said.

Suddenly the lights flicked off and the Brotherhood members stopped what they had been doing.

_"First knock out the power"_

Then the wall was smashed open, Thunderbird stood at the front of the New X-men. Jean yelled as she picked Juggernaut up with her telekinesis. Sunfire then fired a blast from his hand, hitting Juggernaut in midair and sending him flying through the roof of the plane. The unstoppable man yelled as he fell down the cliff. Lorelei opened her mouth to speak, but Nightcrawler teleported behind her and grabbed her by her mouth. Then he teleported out of the plane and dropped the woman into a nettle bush.

_"Remove the most powerful members from the field"_

Storm raised her hands and created a thick fog across the plane. Karl looked through the fog, his eyes detecting the heat sources for Detonator, Thornn and Wild Child. He aimed his pistol, firing several energy blasts. Each blast hit its target, knocking Detonator away from Sam and Thornn away from Beak. Wild Child let out a horrific scream and Karl knew that he had hit his target. The feral man's eyes were boiling with steam from the blast. He waved his arms around, stepping backwards away from Wolfsbane.

_"Obscure their senses and keep them away from our team members"_

Wolverine yelled as he rushed forward, popping out his claws. He dragged them across Wild Child's chest, showing a feral grin as the man's blood and guts spread across the floor. Wild Child shared the smile as his eyes and chest regenerated. Jean then fired telekinetic blasts, hitting Feral in the chest. Storm unleashed bolts of lightning from her hands, slamming them against Unus's barrier. Sunfire then slammed his fist into Detonator, knocking the explosives expert back.

_"Hit them hard, fast and don't give them a chance to fight back, our mission isn't to beat them but to save our team mates"_

Colossus and Polaris shook the effects of Lorelei's brainwashing off. Karl ran up to Dazzler and ripped her restraints off. Polaris, seeing the need for her powers magnetically removed the control collars. Cannonball surrounded himself with his fiery field and launched towards the sky. He flew around the plane they had been trapped in and straight towards the tail hanging off of the edge of the cliff. Pressing his hands against the tail wing, Sam kept the plane in place while his fellow X-men began to dispatch the Brotherhood members. Colossus grabbed Random and threw him straight out of the plane, sending him rolling across the grass by the cliff side. Storm gave up her lightning assault and instead did as Karl had recommended earlier. Creating a miniature tornado she lifted Unus out of the plane and threw him on top of Lorelei.

"Impossible, I'm untouchable" Unus said.

_"Unus's barrier protects him from kinetic force including touch, however it does not block him from the entire world, air gets through his barrier so wind is perhaps the best element to use against him"_

Storm and Marvel Girl flew out of the plane, followed shortly after by the other New X-men. Marvel Girl telekinetically carried Rogue, Dazzler and Jubilee. Nightcrawler teleported with Colossus while Polaris flew and threw Feral and Thornn across the field facing the edge of the cliff. Thunderbird kept a hold of Detonator and jumped out of the plane just as it fell off the cliff. Rahne wrapped her arms around Karl's neck as he ran up the wreck and jumped onto the rock. Digging his fingers through the rock, he slowly began to climb up the cliff. Wolverine and Wild Child however were still falling with the plane, both hacking at one another with their claws.

"It's a good day to break all our bones Logan" Wild Child said.

"Speak for yourself, luckily mine are made of metal" Wolverine grinned.

Wild Child widened his eyes while Wolverine laughed as the two of them fell towards the ground. Karl climbed onto the edge of the cliff and looked to the other X-men. They nodded their heads as they looked at the other Brotherhood members.

"X-men, KICK THEIR ASSES!" Jean yelled.

* * *

Scott found himself unwillingly following Emma down a corridor similar to the ones at the institute. The young woman was swaying her hips with every step she took. She stopped at one particular door and looked at Scott with a smile.

"What is it?" Scott asked.

"It's a rather traumatic childhood experience, are you willing to open the door?" Emma asked.

"If it'll help me wake up then I'll open it" Scott said, clutching the door handle.

Emma gripped Scott's shoulder, turning him around.

"Repairing links in the mind can be a painful experience Scott, are you sure your ready for this?" Emma asked.

"If I don't then there's a good chance that I'll wake up at the point where everything falls apart for the X-men, this is something I feel I have to do"

Scott took a deep breath before swinging the door open. He suddenly found himself floating through the dark skies, wind flapping in his face. Emma grabbed Scott's hand and flew them towards a plane. It was a brown colour and before the Stark Industries logo on its side. One of the engines was on fire and two jet aircraft were pursuing it. Scott remembered the memory perfectly as he and Emma phased into the inside of the jet. Crouched on the floor was Scott when he was younger. Beside him stood his younger brother Alex, hugging their mother tightly.

"Your father and I love you both and we're sorry that things turned out this way, look after one another" The woman said, making no effort to hide her tears.

She strapped the parachute to Scott's back and wrapped a rope around her two boys waists. Alex was now tied to Scott. Both boys hugged their mother, even as the door to the cockpit was kicked open. A man wearing a white suit walked towards them, holding a gun and covering his face with a white gas mask.

"Your husband shouldn't have fought Mrs Summers" The man said.

"Scott, look after your brother no matter what" Their mother said.

Scott nodded his head and jumped out of the plane. Alex screamed as they dived through the air.

"MOM! SCOTT HOW COULD YOU!" Alex yelled.

Scott and Emma were forced out of the plane, never seeing what Ghost had done to Scott's mother and father. Instead they watched as Alex struggled underneath the grip of the rope.

"Why? Why did this have to happen?" The child asked.

Scott pulled the pin and released the parachute. The two brothers fell harmlessly closer and closer towards the ground. Suddenly, the plane was consumed in a cloud of fire. The jets that had been pursuing them broke off, avoiding the wreckage flying at them. One jet pilot looked towards the children, widening his eyes as he saw the rope around Alex beginning to slip.

"Oh my god" Emma said.

"Yeah, what a day I had huh" Scott said.

The rope snapped and Alex screamed as he fell away from Scott. He watched his brother fall with shock across his face. The jet pilot opened his cockpit and dived off of the plane. Much to Emma's shock, the man dived after Alex. He wore a black suit with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the shoulder. The red eye lenses of his mask glowed a red colour as he got closer and closer towards Alex.

"A selfless act of heroism, but his own survival instincts kicked in" Scott said.

The pilot pulled the pin on his parachute and Scott widened his eyes in shock. The pilot hadn't reached his brother in time. Looking up, Scott saw flames on his parachute, but he didn't care about that. What would he do without his brother?

"On the way down, I hit my head and suffered a serious brain injury, I woke up in the hospital and I found out that my brothers body had never been recovered, that Ghost had phased out of the plane at the last second" Scott explained.

"It was too much to bare wasn't it?" Emma asked.

"Yes it was"

The young Scott sat in the hospital bed, rubbing tears from his eyes. He felt his heart pounding. His eyes began to glow a red colour, causing his tears to bubble. The pressure of one tragedy after another pushed his mind to the edge and manifested his powers. With a yell, the young Scott Summers fired his eye beams for the first time, blowing away the roof of his room.

"Everything changed from there, I got sent to an orphanage, where I spent half of my time wearing a blind fold, eventually Xavier found me" Scott explained as Emma moved the scene onto another memory.

Xavier walked up to a kneeling Scott, smiling down at the young boy. Scott looked up, he couldn't see the Professor, but the psychic had already implanted an image into his mind.

"**Your not the only one who thinks he's cursed Scott" **Xavier said telepathically.

"It's strange I would have used the term gifted" Emma said.

"That the difference between him and you, he embraced the fact that some people thought they were cursed" Scott said, smiling at that memory.

"Jean, could you please help out friend?" Xavier asked.

Emma crossed her arms as she watched a younger Jean kneel by Scott's side.

"Keep your eyes closed" She said, lifting up his blindfold.

He kept his eyes shut as Jean put a pair of Ruby Quarts glasses over his eyes. She rubbed his cheek as she telepathically told him to open his eyes. Against his better judgement, he did as she asked and he never regretted it since. The glasses had contained the effects of his powers. And the first thing he saw in his "new life" was a red haired beauty.

"All very romantic dear but has she ever returned those feelings?" Emma asked.

"No" Scott said.

Emma rubbed Scott's chest and ran her hands across the sides of his head.

"Remember what you live for Scott and wake up" Emma said.

She suddenly pulled Scott into a furious kiss. Gripping his mouth with hers, Emma changed into her diamond form. Scott groaned and then screamed as the diamond passed onto his own skin.

* * *

With Jean's orders, the X-men leapt into action. Colossus slammed his fist into Random before he could fire his cannons. Wolfsbane then ran across the field, jumping and brutally slashing Feral across the chest. Storm threw her hands forward, blowing a gust of wind that threw Unus into Detonator. Sunfire then swooped downwards, firing an atomic blast into the ground, knocking Detonator and Unus back with the shockwave. Cannonball slammed straight into Unus, bouncing off of his barrier.

"You want to test that barrier against mine, all right here we go!" Cannonball said.

He eagerly increased speed, slamming directly into Unus's barrier. Both men yelled as they tried to push one another back. Polaris took parts of the plane and threw them at Random and Detonator. Thorn rushed towards Polaris, but Beak quickly grabbed her shoulders with his talons. He then flew upwards and dropped Thorn on top of her sister. Karl kneeled by Dazzler's side and looked over her injuries.

"Several scratches across her outer body, an ill treated neck wound and broken hands" Karl listed.

"Don't forget the severe lacerations to her face" Beast said, looking at the wounds in horror.

"No immediate concern, but if they are not treated then she will likely suffer from infection" Karl said.

Turning around, Karl fired his stun gun into Detonator's chest, knocking him back. Thunderbird then lifted the man above his shoulders and threw him into Random.

"We cant afford to keep fighting" Beast said.

"A quick retreat is highly recommended" Karl droned.

"Karl, what's wrong?" Beast asked.

Karl gripped his head and shook it.

"Nothing, like I said we should get out of here although eliminating the Brotherhood is also a viable option"

"Karl, your sounding more like your old self" Beast said.

Jean walked towards Lorelei with glowing gold eyes.

"Jean, your so attracted to me that you want to rip your own clothes off right now" Lorelei said.

"Your voice won't work on a mind like mine" Jean growled. "How about you rip off your clothes" She commanded.

A bird emblem glowed over Lorelei's eye. She whined and groaned as her hands clawed at her suit. Falling onto the grass, Lorelei convulsed and moaned while Jean walked towards Unus. The untouchable man deflected Cannonball's attack, sending the young mutant flying into a rock. Jean threw her hands forward, firing a blast straight into Unus. She yelled, surrounding herself with flames.

"That affect again" Sunfire said, flying away from the flaming wings Jean protruded from her back.

She screamed, releasing a bird like yell. Unus widened his eyes as the flames broke through his barrier. He yelled, covering his hands with his face.

"JEAN STOP!" Beast yelled.

Karl raised his head, looking at Jean as she burnt Unus's face. He raised the disruptor and then hesitated before looking at Marie.

"You, grab Jean Grey" He said.

"What, your out of your mind" Rogue said.

"Grab Jean Grey and absorb some of her powers, this will knock you out and then I will knock you out, thus preventing any damage to our group" Karl explained.

He lifted her onto her feet and rubbed her shoulders gently.

"Have faith in your own abilities, now quickly run towards her" Karl commanded.

Gathering what little strength she had, Rogue ran forwards. Karl ran with her, sliding underneath Jean's flaming wings and hitting her with a blast from his disruptor. Jean turned towards Karl, her eyes giving off a fierce glow.

"You will suffer for what you did to them Sentinel" Jean said.

Kurt and Ororo then looked at Jean and Karl in shock before Rogue jumped on top of her. She grabbed Jean's cheeks, screaming as she felt Jean's powers course through her. Jean screamed, the flames disappearing while she slowly fell to the floor. Rogue kept her hands on her head, hearing the thoughts of people around her. Karl raised the disruptor and fired a blast into Rogue's chest, knocking her to the ground and out cold.

"Karl what are you doing?" Beast asked.

"Dealing with the situation quickly and efficiently, we must now go" Karl said.

"First ve need to pick up Logan" Kurt said.

Ororo and Kurt both looked at Karl as he called down the Black Bird. Everyone else was left confused by what had happened. But Ororo and Kurt were both smart enough to put together what Jean had meant. Forge's supposed assistant was actually the Sentinel that attacked the school and killed Alexis and the other students.

* * *

His cloak flapped around his shoulders. The old missile base where they had first battled was a fitting place for their final encounter. Metallic objects flew around Magneto's black and purple armour. His face was half covered by his black helmet. It was a different image than the one Xavier remembered. He landed his jet a few miles away from the base and put on a suit that Forge had built for these situations. It consisted of silver parts that framed Xavier's head and ran along his arms, spine and legs. The harness would allow Xavier to walk temporarily, to account for Magneto's power over metal and energy; Xavier powered the harness with his psionic powers.

"It is time for us to finish this Charles" Magneto said coldly.

"Magnus, what changed? Where did it all go wrong?" Xavier asked.

"You know of the moment Charles, we are destined to fight for the superiority of our dreams"

"I will not fight you brother"

"DON'T YOU DARE CALL ME THAT!" Magneto yelled.

He flicked his wrist, throwing a metal shrapnel piece into Xavier's leg. For a moment, Xavier felt the pain of his old legs as he fell to the floor. Focusing with all his intellect, Xavier picked himself up off the floor. Magneto glared down at Xavier, flying off of the tower he had been stood on. Xavier's memories flashed before his eyes. The X-men had been in the same situation. Magneto, dressed in his red and purple costume had faced down the X-men. But this time Magneto was in darker armour and the understanding in his eyes was gone.

"One of us will die today Charles, there is no escaping our destined fate, one dream will rise and the other will be left in the dust" Magneto explained.

"Magnus don't you remember our vision for the world?" Xavier asked.

"Of course I remember, mutants are the future, we will replace humanity" Magneto said.

"Your wrong Magnus, that is not how we felt"

"It is how I have always felt you naïve fool, how could you not see that? Where you really so childish as to believe that peace could be possible between our kind and theirs"

Magneto threw his arms forward, throwing a hail of shrapnel towards Xavier. Putting his hands to his head, Xavier released a psionic pulse, throwing the shrapnel off balance. Focusing on Magneto's helmet, Xavier raided his old friends mind. Images of death were lurking inside the elder mans mind. He experienced suffering beyond what Charles had experienced. His family had been killed; his lovers betrayed him and his friend had abandoned him.

"Forgive me Magnus, I could not understand your pain, but I will save you, from yourself if I must" Xavier said.

Magneto laughed flapping his cloak around as he landed on the ground. He threw his hand forward, lifting the steel from under the ground. Xavier balanced on top of a floating metallic disc. With a flick of his wrist, Magneto threw Xavier to the ground. Rolling across the dirt, Xavier then hit Magneto with a Psi-Beam. The psionic energy grinded against Magneto's helmet, desperately trying to break into his mind. Xavier threw his arm forward, telekinetically pushing Magneto into the dirt.

"You experienced so much pain in your life, and I couldn't even begin to understand it" Xavier said.

"ENOUGH!" Magneto roared.

He threw his arms upwards, hitting Xavier across the head with metal orbs. Then he thrust an arm forward, sending a metal spike into the joint of Xavier's leg harness. Charles fell to the ground, the left leg joint of his harness sparking. He fired another psionic blast, hitting Magneto. The master of magnetism clutched his head, his nose bleeding.

"Do you think you can stop me?" He asked.

"I'm not trying to kill you" Charles said.

Flying into the air, Magneto squeezed his hand into a fist. Tiny screws flew into the joints of Xavier's harness. Charles widened his eyes as his suit began to shut down. His legs ceased moving and he fell to the floor. Crawling across the dirt, Xavier attempted another telekinetic assault. But Magneto altered the form of an iron pole and wrapped it around Xavier's body. He lifted his old friend off of the ground, higher and higher until they were stories above the ground.

"Your pathetic dream failed Charles, my students will kill yours and lead the rest of mutant kind into the coming war, everything you fought for and gained in years will be destroyed in days as my brotherhood destroys every trace of humanity and gives rise to the dominance of the mutant species" Magneto explained as he pulled a marble out of his pouch.

He shifted the metal marble into a foot long dagger. Pressing the blade against Charles's chest, Magneto awaited his old friends final words.

"Eric, its not too late to change the world through peace, remember all those years ago, when we promised to save one another if the other fell, that's what I'm trying to do today brother, please listen to me and think about what you are doing, we can still change the world for the better" Charles explained.

Magneto lowered the knife and closed his eyes.

"Your right Charles, the world can still be changed…but not by you!"

He slashed Charles across the chest, leaving a deep cut with blood pouring from the room. Then he coldly let Xavier go, to fall towards the missile base. Charles kept his eyes fixed on his friend as he fell closer and closer towards the ground. Suddenly, he stopped!

It was the memory of a happier time, a time of hope for mutant and human alike. Genosha had been liberated by two of the most unlikely of men. Magnus nervously looked himself in the mirror. Gone were his medical scrubs, replaced by a dusty black and red uniform. Charles stood behind him, wearing a business suit.

"Calm down Magnus, the new leader of Genosha has to be strong and hard for his people" Charles said mockingly.

"You should be here too" Magnus said.

"It was your actions that got us here Magnus, it was your dream, not mine"

"Perhaps you should go and make your dream then"

"And leave you to fend for yourself, I think not"

Charles patted Magnus on the shoulder as cheers echoed outside of the building.

"They're growing inpatient friend, let the people of Genosha see their new monarch" Charles said.

"Thank you for everything Charles, but the work isn't over yet, if you plan to stay with me I need you to promise me something"

"Anything Eric"

"Absolute power corrupts, I don't know what went through the mind of Hitler all those years ago, but what I do know is this…if I ever go down that path, I need someone willing to stop me before I reach the point Hitler did…please Charles if ever that happens, if ever I go on the path of Genocide stop me"

Charles looked his friend in the eye with a solemn expression before slapping his shoulder.

"I promise you friend, I'll do better than stop you…I'll save you!" Charles vowed.

Xavier opened his eyes and looked up at Magneto. Dressed in black armour and spouting madness of genocide, Xavier remembered that promise he made. He hadn't failed, because that wasn't his old friend. Holding onto Charles's tired, bleeding and smiling form was the true master of magnetism. Dressed in his signature red and purple armour, Magneto glared at his doppelganger as metal surrounded both of them. Even in the midst of an imminent battle, Xavier knew that he didn't need to keep his promise.

Next Chapter 15: Darkness in us all

* * *

Next chapter Magneto faces off against his evil Doppelganger, AKA Xorn! While Emma continues to "save" Cyclops, but someones in her way


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

Sorry for the long wait, this next chapter took a while. Here we have a look at the past of the X-men and Magneto's own foolish attempts to change the world. We also get a look at Noah's powers. This is the chapter where everything kicks off. Hope everyone enjoys it!

* * *

The Dream We Share

Chapter 15: Darkness in us all

The situation Magneto was in was somewhat ironic. Once, a long time ago he wanted to kill Xavier. But now he was fighting to save him, remembering the days they had once been friends. It was as if he was looking at his darker side, the kind of man he would have been if he didn't realise what a good friend he had. Eric Magnus Lensherr, the man also known as Magneto looked at his doppelganger and felt not disgust or admiration, but rage.

"Eric," Xavier said weakly.

Magneto looked at the man in his arms. Charles Xavier was a great man, a dreamer, which made him somewhat foolish. Eric remembered something Charles had once said to him.

"The world needs dreamers to keep it pure!"

At the time, Eric scoffed at the words and had said in response that the world needed realists. Realists would make history; at least that was his belief. Sacrifice and kill to get results, engage in war to save hundreds of mutants, and enslave humanity in order to ensure that mutants rose to their rightful place. There came a time when he rallied mutants together, in order to launch a war against humanity. Many mutants gathered to his side, they were a mix of youth and cynical men and women that had enough with society. At the time, Magneto thought he was righteous, at the time he thought a lot of things that he didn't think anymore.

"ATTACK MY BROTHERHOOD! SECURE OUR FUTURE!" Magneto yelled.

His troops moved forward, charging through rows of police and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Magneto raised his arms, lifting trucks and tanks into the air. He surrounded himself with pieces of debris, guns, cars; anything metal surrounded him, forming a barrier to protect him. His Brotherhood ran towards the UN building. A green boy spat a blob of slime from his mouth, covering a policemen's head. Sabretooth held a chain with both hands, holding back a naked blonde boy, driven mad by his feral mutation.

"Sick em Wild Child!" Sabretooth said, letting go of the chain.

Wild Child and Sabretooth ran through the S.H.I.E.L.D agents, savagely ripping them apart with their claws and teeth. Sabretooth opened a police officers chest and ripped off an agent's jugular. He licked his blood soaked claws, jumping into a crowd of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. The ground shook and a squad car fell into a crevice. A brown haired man wearing a blue suit with silver pads on his shoulders, arms and knees shook the ground with every step he took. Light reflected off of his glass bowl helmet. His eyes rolled into the back of his head as he accessed his powers. With one step he created a pillar that threw a SWAT truck off the road.

"Show them no mercy, this is war," Magneto said.

Several jets flew towards the UN sight, but Magneto crushed the planes with both hands. He then slammed the remains like missiles into two army regiments. The green skinned boy kicked two army soldiers aside and whistled at a pale black haired girl as she shot two policemen in the kneecaps. She had chalk white skin and a black ring around her left eye, what attracted the Toad was the black bodysuit she wore. Maniacal laughter echoed through the field as a ginger haired boy shaped the flames around him into animals. His fiery army pounced on the soldiers.

"Pyro, Domino, Toad, gather on me," A silver haired boy said.

He bore such a close resemblance to Magneto because he was the man's son. Pietro certainly had his father's arrogance, but his mutant power was super speed. He wore a purple costume with red gloves and a red lightning bolt across his chest. His codename was Quicksilver, a name he lived up to as he ran and knocked out several soldiers in the blink of an eye. Domino, Toad and the insane Pyro ran to Quicksilver's side.

"Hit that S.H.I.E.L.D. regiment, keep them away from my sister," Pietro said.

Domino eagerly loaded her grenade launcher, firing it into the group of agents. Toad jumped into the air, spitting sticky slime from his mouth.

"Shit!" An agent said, pulling on his slimed leg.

"This is gonna be so great!" Pyro cackled.

He opened the hatches on his orange gauntlets and shot out streams of fire. Using his control over the fire, he shaped the flames into a giant flaming devil. It raised its pitchfork, slamming it into the agents. Pietro looked away from the scene, trying to block out the screaming.

"Mystique, are you in position?" Magneto asked.

"Yes sir, I'm cracking open S.H.I.E.L.D. defences now", a woman said over the radio.

At a S.H.I.E.L.D. outpost, the barrier protecting the UN building suddenly disappeared. Agents and politicians widened their eyes in shock. But at the outpost, none of the agents responded to radio hails. The only agent left standing from a massacre smiled as his body began to change. His armour disappeared, replaced by blue flesh. The tone of the body changed to a feminine form, one of incredible beauty. Even the eyes changed to a yellow colour, while the red hair hung loosely over the shoulders. "She" laughed as she heard politicians begin to yell and shout for the exits.

"Mystique to Exodus move in," She said.

A red skinned man lowered his radio; looking to the young mutants he led. He raised his hand, levitating himself off the ground. The cloak of his gold armour flapped around before he gave the order.

"CHARGE!"

The mutants ran forward, charging towards the Police officers barricading the doors to the UN building. A mammoth/human hybrid roared as he stampeded towards the soldiers. Soldiers and policemen screamed as they came to face with their worst nightmares. A brown haired girl, wearing a provocative black costume with her midriff and arms exposed, forced these visions into their minds. She used her powers of illusion creation to strike fear into the enemy's hearts. The soldiers quivered as the Brotherhood mutants got closer and closer towards them.

"**That's enough Eric!"**

A Hulking mass suddenly landed between the soldiers and the Brotherhood. He had rippling muscles and white skin. His head was at first blank before growing a set of eyes and big cheesy grin. Suddenly, his muscles shrunk and his shirtless form adopted a blue costume with a red cloak.

"Morph quit playing around," Wolverine said as he landed behind Morph.

He wore a black shirt with the X logo on his chest. His claws burst out of his gloves as he ran at the Brotherhood members. A man in a pitch white suit also joined the fray, shooting his two pistols. Morph cracked his knuckles together while another X-man landed beside him. Cable pulled a blaster off of his back and took aim at the Brotherhood members. Angel swooped over the Brotherhood, wearing a black and yellow X-men uniform. None of the official X-men were wearing masks. Mutant vigilantes and super heroes had temporarily joined them. A young fifteen-year-old Storm wore nothing but a set of blue cloths. On the other side of the UN building, Cyclops stood in front of the Brotherhood army with other members of the X-men and their allies.

"Hold this line and protect the agents" Cyclops said.

"Sure thing Scotty" A man in a red and black suit said as he landed beside the X-men.

He was crouched on the floor, wearing a black suit with a red chest plate, kneepads and a red line travelling across his pitch-black mask.

"Vendetta, go with Cannonball and Colossus, stop their heavy hitters," Jean said.

"What should Ali and I do?" Bobby asked.

"Ice up and form a wall, Ali your with me and Jean, we'll provide cover fire for the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents," Scott explained.

Magneto remembered this moment, when he looked at the young mutants protecting humanity from their superiors. At the time he called them fools, now he remained conflicted over what they truly where.

Emma Frost on the other hand watched this memory with disdain. She wasn't a fighter, so she couldn't begin to approve of the X-men's actions. Particularly because she felt that their fight was pointless. She clicked her fingers, pausing the scene as Scott fired his optic blast at the Blob. Emma smiled at the image, even when he was younger Scott had quite a chest. Once again clicking her fingers, she broke the memory and returned to a white void. Scott was encased in a white diamond, his eyes wide in shock.

"Not quite a flattering pose Scott, I think I prefer this one" Emma said as she clicked her fingers.

The diamond shattered and Scott fell into Emma's arms. He breathed heavily, while Emma stroked his hair.

"Tell me what you saw Scott, describe it to me" Emma said.

"I saw, every battle we fought, and every outcome and I asked myself "what is the point of it?"" Scott said.

"You need an answer don't you?" Emma asked.

"Yes!"

"Let me take a look at some more of your memories."

"Why?"

"I want you to realise something, something more important than you could ever imagine," Emma began as the scenery shifted.

They flashed through the battles that the X-men had fought bloody battles that had pushed them to their limits. Scott remembered the time they were truly faced with death, when Jean had killed a group of mutant haters. And the worst part of it was that she had enjoyed it. He watched her smile as flames appeared around her. There was no anger, merely enjoyment as she made the men pay for what they had done. They were cultists whom wore steel masks and beat up mutants with numerous weapons. Some had been crippled, even killed by the intense beatings. Xavier had taught the X-men of the importance of life and that they, as heroes should never kill. But at the time it wasn't a rule Jean wished to follow.

"JEAN STOP!" Cyclops yelled.

She threw her hands forward, wrapping the cultists with the fiery wings she generated. Cyclops put his hands to his eyes, hearing the sound of a screaming raptor. This cry overrode the sound of the screaming cultists. Their skin melted off of their bones and their bones grew darker and darker until they crumbled to ashes. Jean clutched her head, yelling and spreading the flames. When the flames disappeared, Cyclops and Emma were no longer in the streets but on a battlefield. Explosions ignited around them and beams flew across the air. Cyclops looked up, remembering the artillery of Cameron Hodges's Right.

The Right were an army of anti-mutant soldiers. They wore heavy army with devilish smiling faces, equipped with weapons that included machine guns and missile launchers. A younger Cyclops ran alongside members of the Morlock's, a group of mutants that once hid underground. The fight had taken them away from the sewers and into the centre of central park. Cyclops wore a trench coat over his blue X-men uniform. Firing an optic blast, Cyclops knocked over one of the armoured men. The Right troops fired the Gatling guns on their shoulders.

"NO!" Cyclops yelled, watching his fellow mutants being cut apart by the gunfire.

He fired his optic blast, beheading a Right member. Then he removed his visor, firing a blast that disintegrating the grass around him and threw the Right back. Angel flew into the right, picking up one Right Member while Iceman froze another. They kept up the offensive, disarming their foes and immobilising their armour.

"What are you hoping to achieve with this?" Emma asked.

"What do you mean?" Scott asked.

"You fight a battle, let a villain go and then the battle cycle repeats itself, surely it would make more sense for you simply kill those who threaten the mutant race, Magneto had the right idea, although he needed a little patience," Emma explained.

"You can't mean that, why did you come here if you didn't believe in Xavier's dream?"

"I came to teach and to do some good, but seeing all the battles the X-men have fought, all the hardships they have gone through, what was it all for?" Emma asked, cupping Scott's face and turning him around.

He saw Xavier lecturing them, yelling at them for their failures. X-men don't kill, that was a belief that Xavier followed to the letter. Jean screamed, unleashing waves of telekinesis that created a hurricane. Objects flew around her and the Xavier students tried to calm her. Kurt teleported behind her and trapped her with his legs. Monet St Croix then put her hands to her head, assaulting Jean's mind in an effort to calm her. Lorna used her own magnetic powers to disrupt Jean's powers, causing the objects she "carried" to fall to the ground. Kurt yelled as Jean wrapped herself in a fiery aura, throwing him back. The flames grew and formed the silhouette of a raptor. Sage joined her powers with Monet, dealing a swift psionic blow to Jean that knocked her out cold.

Scott didn't even remember why Jean lost control. But it was a common occurrence with Jean. From the beginning her powers were unstable. She had the potential for great feats with her telekinesis. And yet her emotions could get the better of her. Sometimes it seemed as if she had a separate personality all together. As Scott watched Jean torture members of the Hellfire cult he tried to look away.

"No Scott you need to see it all," Emma said.

Jean laughed insanely, burning the humans to ashes. During the battle against Magneto, the X-men fought heroically against their fellow mutants. But it was a battle that would come at heavy costs. Iceman formed a wall of ice to block the Brotherhood's advance. But an overweight man easily smashed through the ice. The Blob ruthlessly grabbed a soldier's head, squashing it and spraying the blood onto Bobby's ice form. Bobby fell back, his eyes wide in shock as Blob marched towards him. The monster of a man dug his hand into the inside of the soldier's head, putting brain matter and flesh into his mouth.

"Tasty" Blob said. "I like chilled food too."

Warren dived downwards, scooping Bobby up. Blob then widened his eyes as Colossus charged towards him. The young Russian man had been drafted into the X-men, wearing a black uniform with yellow boots and a belt. He smashed his armoured fist into Blob's face, smashing the fat man's teeth out. Vendetta flipped and jumped around the field, dodging laser blasts and acid thrown by mutants of various power types. He kicked one mutant in the head, and then threw another to the ground, buying time for the soldiers to retreat and regroup. Cable fired blast after blast from his rifle, hitting Brotherhood members left and right. Fantomex squeezed the triggers on his machine gun, spraying mutants full of bullets. Wolverine stabbed and slashed his way through mutants as he ran towards Genesis.

"Stop it" Scott groaned.

"Just watch and learn, watch it from a different view," Emma said.

Jean threw two mutants aside and knocked a bruiser out with her telepathy. Cyclops fired his optic blast, knocking a fiery mutant back. Beak grabbed a mutant by his shoulders, flying him further and further into the air. Cyclops watched as Beak dropped the young mutant, his kneecaps bending as he landed on his feet. Fantomex fired his submachine guns; killing several more mutants while Wolverine cut them to bits. Cable slammed his fist into the ground, using that and a telekinetic burst to knock several Brotherhood mutants down.

"Just stop it please," Scott begged.

"So much blood shed that day and what was it all for?" Emma asked.

It was a question Magneto often asked himself. So many of his fellow humans had died that day. And what did it get him? A life where he was constantly on the run, only able to help people every few weeks. But Charles, he was helping everyone, not just the people defined as human and mutant. He lived everyday to help people, to improve the world. And standing before Magneto was a clear reflection of who he once was, perhaps who he was still. Seeing himself in a mirror drove Magneto to fury.

"Pietro, get Charles," Magnus said.

He dropped his friend, trusting in his son's speed. A young man with white hair ran across the missile sight. He wore a purple suit with red gloves, boots and a red bolt symbol across his chest. Pietro moved at incredible speeds, jumping and grabbing Charles in midair. He was well deserving of the name Quicksilver as he ran to a forest twenty miles away from the region is just the blink of an eye. But he didn't stop there, he ran even further, over mountains, across fields and through cities before reaching the doors of the Xavier institute. The students looked at him in shock while he rolled his eyes.

"Don't just stand there with your mouths hanging open I need a medic here" Quicksilver said.

"Oh my god, someone get Josh" David said.

Magneto looked at his darker duplicate. With a flick of his wrist he sent a metal nail flying towards him. But the duplicate raised his hand, stopping the nail inches from his fingers. He then moved both his hands, ripping pieces of metal off of the ground. Magneto waved his arms in an arc motion, sending a chunk of metal spinning towards his duplicate. Again the duplicate matched his movements, squashing the metal chunk into a ball. He refined the scrap of metal, smoothing its structure until it was the shape of a cannonball. Then he thrust his hand forward, sending the ball flying towards Magneto. Magnus ducked his head, avoiding the ball just in time.

"You are pathetic Magneto, you've reduced yourself to a street level "hero", you were once a man with dreams" The Duplicate said.

"I'm still a man with dreams, who are you anyway?" Magneto asked.

"I'm you Magnus Lensherr, I am what you refuse to be. A man who will change the entire world, I AM XORN! The future of the mutant race, the one who will lead mutants into dominance."

Xorn fired a magnetic wave, trying to force Magneto towards the ground. But Magneto was equally as powerful as Xorn, and used his own power over magnetism to pull Xorn down with him. As their battle continued, Magneto remembered his battle to "conquer" America. The countless lives that had been lost were his responsibility. Young mutants fought one another, unwilling to kill. The older mutants however were much deadlier. Wolverine and Fantomex raged across the battlefield, blood staining their uniforms. Cable shot a mutant in the chest, stopping him from killing a human soldier. Magneto kept a hold of Xorn, using metal fragments to rip at Xorn's skin.

Underneath Xorn's flesh was a skull like face with glowing blue eyes. Xorn pushed Magneto back and squeezed his hand into a fist. Magneto felt the iron of his blood boil, veins throbbing on his head. But he couldn't afford to give up, not after so many sacrifices. His bravest follower was Genesis, but for his loyalty he was killed by Fantomex. The white garbed mercenary shot the former crusader many times. Blood ran down Genesis's shirt, but that didn't stop him. With the last of his strength he launched a psychic blast, ripping apart Fantomex's mind. The mercenary fell to the floor, his eyes rolling into the back of his head as foam stained his mask.

"Die Magneto, your pathetic dream is destined to fail!" Xorn chided, his cloak flying off as he sent metal spikes flying towards his target.

Magneto threw his hand forward, pushing the spikes back, sending them flying into Xorn's chest. But Xorn still managed to manipulate Magneto's blood, bursting the blood vessels on his arm. Magneto yelled in agony as his left arm went limp. He used his other arm, creating a cannonball out of a scrap of metal in the ground. With a thrust of his hand he hit Xorn in the chest, slamming him repeatedly into the wall.

"What the hell are you anyway?" Magneto wondered, using more metal shards to rip at Xorn's clothes.

Xorn wasn't human, or at least he wasn't flesh and blood. Magneto began to realise that much as their brutal fight continued. This "creature" had control over magnetic waves as he did. The clouds in the sky came apart and any metal object from kilometres away was pulled into the region of the battle. Civilians in the towns nearby gasped as jewellery, tools and electrical equipment floated in the sky. Cars themselves were lifted off the ground, sailing into people before joining the crowd of metal objects. They were Magneto's weapons, yet in the past he had not relied sorely on them.

He had used his own children as well as other mutants to further his own dream. It was all for the sake of the mutant race. For the sake of evolution, for a peace that would last forever. Eric yelled madly, commanding lines of troops to attack. "Human" soldiers were nothing against the wrath of his Brotherhood. Sabretooth ripped apart soldiers with his bare hands, smiling as Wolverine rushed towards him. Wolverine leapt forward, stabbing his claws into Sabretooth's chest. They rolled across the floor, ripping at one another. Cyclops hit a bulking mutant with an optic blast, and then tried to hit Magneto. Eric easily deflected the blast, firing a magnetic wave that knocked Scott back. Jean rushed to Scott's side, covering them both with a telekinetic bubble.

"She saved you that time, but who was she willing to die for?" Emma asked.

"Stop it Emma, please stop," Scott begged.

"Don't worry Scott; we're approaching the end very soon," Emma whispered.

Wolverine slashed Sabretooth across the head, knocking him to the floor. He turned to Magneto, the master of magnetism loomed over Scott and Jean. Without hesitation, Logan ran for Magneto and leapt towards the helmeted man. But Magneto merely flicked his wrist and much to Jean's shock, Logan's hipbone popped out of place. Logan yelled in agony before Magneto bent his ribcage and threw him across the field. Jean pushed past Magneto, flying as fast as she could for Logan's sake. Cyclops fired another blast, knocking off Magneto's helmet.

"NOW PROFESSOR!" Scott yelled.

In a helicopter overlooking the battlefield, Xavier put his hands to his head and reached into Erik's mind. Magneto put his hands to his head as he felt his old friend. The battle became a blur, replaced by a white void. Gone were his soldiers gone was his costume. He looked Xavier in the eyes, seeing a look of pity.

"This wasn't supposed to happen Eric…Max, we were better than this," Xavier said solemnly.

"Don't get sanctimonious with me Charles, you may have made a dream but your far from perfect, you even tried to violate a woman's mind," Magneto explained, bringing up a memory Xavier wasn't proud of.

"I loved Amelia, she didn't see the good we were doing in Genosha. The last thing I wanted was for her to leave me, but I saw how foolish I was, I tried to change her mind and I only drove her further away, is that what you want with your children?" Charles asked.

"Don't you dare bring them into this," Magneto growled.

"You've brought them into the middle of a war Max, you're trying to overthrow a government and then beyond that your madness will lead you to tyranny. These promises you make, the speeches of mutant supremacy, of humans being an imperfect race and Homo-superior being the true masters. Don't you see who this makes you sound like?"

Magneto widened his eyes for a moment before growling in fury. He yelled, throwing Xavier out of his mind and breaking apart the helicopter. Charles fell towards the ground, but Jean was too distracted with Logan to get there in time. The helicopter wasn't far from the ground, but it was still too much of a drop for any ordinary man to bear.

"PROFESSOR!" Scott screamed.

The man he knew as a second father slammed back first into the ground. He let out a sharp breath, blood shooting from his mouth. Charles Xavier felt his spine shatter, that was all he felt. He couldn't even feel the pain of hitting the ground, just his spine breaking. No yell of agony escaped his lips, no tears for his unmoving legs. There was only silent sorrow, that he could find no hope in the depths of his friend's mind. Jean stayed by Logan's side, closing her eyes and reaching inside him. She bent his bones back in place, pushing them back where they belonged. It spoke of her power as she moved the supposedly unbreakable metal back in place.

"Xavier didn't finish Magneto while he had the chance, and Jean stayed with that man, a man old enough to be her grandfather, hell great grandfather even. Can you see the way she looks at him, the way she imagines kissing him?" Emma asked, tracing her fingers across Scott's cheeks.

Scott stood in shock, watching as his younger self was left helpless against Magneto and his army. Eric looked in regret, seeing his old self-falling into deeper madness. He could see himself in Xorn, more monster than man. Emma caressed Scott's face, soothingly whispering into his ear.

"It wasn't worth fighting for Scott, it's still not worth fighting for, I can show you something better, come with me and the Hellfire Club will help you achieve a better dream."

"The Hellfire…club, no, this is wrong, I know who they are," Scott said.

"They want to make the world better, but sometimes sacrifices have to be made."

"Your wrong, you're completely wrong, I chose to fight for Xavier's dream, a dream I share with him."

Scott stumbled away from Emma, fleeing the memories she forced him to experience. He found himself looking at Jean, meeting her for the first time. She was so beautiful; her red hair was like a flame, drawing him towards her. Emma grabbed Scott's arm, throwing him into the memory of Magneto's war. He widened his eyes as she saw Jean sharing a passionate kiss with Logan. They didn't believe they would survive the battle and shared their first kiss.

"She wont share your feelings Scott, she doesn't love you," Emma said.

"You may be psychic, but you have no idea what people feel. Just because you can read them, doesn't mean you can UNDERSTAND THEM!" Scott yelled.

He remembered the countless techniques both Xavier and Jean had taught him. His mind was his own and if ever a telepath was unethical enough to force him to think the things they felt he would be ready, even in his sleep. Emma found herself back inside the X-men's medical bay. She turned around, narrowing her eyes at Virgil and Noah.

"What were you doing Miss Frost?" Virgil asked.

She looked to Scott; though he was still unconscious a smirk had spread across his face. It seemed the jig was up; even the two students were suspicious of her.

* * *

Karl kept his gaze on the window. The last thing he wanted to do was talk to Jean or Hank. Judging from their personalities so far, they were the most likely to show sympathy to his situation. He shook his head, wondering why he had analysed the two X-men like that. Correction, Jean was an X-woman and Beast an X-man. Karl would have sighed if such an action was logically necessary. Kurt and Ororo both looked at the temporary X-man with mixed feelings. They both understood that Karl hadn't been himself, but they also knew that he was a potential danger. However there was something they knew for a fact, that Karl must be the beginning of something bigger.

"We're approaching the target now," Logan said.

"Target, what do you mean?" Shiro asked.

"Just one more stop then we'll go back to the mansion, Karl you might want to come for this," Jean said.

Karl looked out of his window and narrowed his eyes. He remembered this house, right smack in the middle of a suburban neighbourhood. This was where he lived before he became a Sentinel. Suddenly, the jet disappeared and he found himself inside the house. He looked at his old self, speaking with his parents.

"Why wont you just go to church, Father Stryker is extremely disappointed with you," Karl's father said.

"Father Stryker can go fuck himself, and his god!" Karl growled, putting his gym equipment into a bag.

He filled up his water with the kitchen tap, ignoring his father and mother's presence.

"Karl we want you to live a successful life, there's a professor we were thinking of inviting over, I'm sure Mr Bastion would like to see your computer programs," Karl's mother explained.

"You want me to go to church and keep to our religion, well guess what the two things can't coexist. Science is contradicting religion more and more, this mutant phenomenon is a scientific matter not a religious one. The mutant problem doesn't affect me so I wont play a part in it." Karl put his bag over his shoulder and took a step towards the back door.

"Karl why can't you be both a good Christian and a good scientist?" Karl's father asked.

"Because I want nothing from your god, I don't even believe in him. And if he is real look at what's happened, natural disasters occurring in places that aren't prepared, men driven to madness over religious teachings _we _humans wrote. We should be thankful to god, I say fuck god if this is the best he could give us."

The older man suddenly slapped his son across the face.

"You will not blaspheme again."

Karl narrowed his eyes before grabbing his father's neck and pushing him against the fridge. He grabbed the kitchen knife, pressing it against his father's cheek. For years he had been struck and lectured about a god he didn't believe in. No more, he had had enough now.

"You wont touch me again," He growled.

"Karl are you all right?" Jean asked.

Karl was snapped out of the memory and he looked at the other X-men. They looked at him with concern, even Shiro seemed worried.

"Lets land and take a look, I need to see what happened," Karl said.

* * *

Magneto was on his last legs and despite the damage he had done Xorn was still floating above him. Eric's knees touched the ground and he glared at Xorn. The robotic creature had surrounded himself with metal objects. But in response, Magneto generated a magnetic pulse, repelling the metal objects. One man against hopeless odds, it reminded Eric of his war with the UN. The X-men had been overcome, though some still fought on many had been wounded to the point where they couldn't bring themselves to fight. Cyclops crawled across the floor, dusty covering his uniform. Magneto put his helmet back on and looked to his lieutenants.

"Father, we have a clear line to attack the UN building, now is the time to finish this," Pietro said.

"Wait, haven't we done enough father?" Wanda asked.

"It wont be enough, we have to make them feel the sorrow of Genosha. Don't forget Wanda that these supposed "societies" demanded our destruction; again and again they sent mutants to us, even against their will. There's no more room left in Genosha, our food has dwindled and the humans continue to live in ignorance. "Oh just send them to Genosha, let them destroy one another", "The mutants are a danger, we have to keep our citizens safe", "they are unnatural", "These mutants will only lead to destruction and suffering if they aren't contained". What about our suffering Wanda? The leaders of this society destroyed my family, even your mother fell victim to human malice. There is a reason we exist, we exist to change this world and make it better!"

Magneto's speech was passionate, yet none of his followers could see the insanity inside him.

"How can you speak like that and carry such actions?"

The question didn't come from an X-man. Magneto narrowed his eyes, looking at where the voice had come from. A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent was the only thing standing between him and the UN building. He wore a black uniform, with a mask that covered his face. His red eye lenses seemed to glare at Magneto, as he stood ready to fight.

"You, Slade Reilly, why are you trying to stop me?" Magneto asked.

"I hate this government as well, they're hypocritical, imperfect, and they do nothing to change this world. But what your doing now, this violence, these speeches…is that any different from…Hitler!" The man explained, motioning to the damage that had been done to the land.

Dead scattered across the floor, flames spreading and grounds that had been torn apart. Even the air was different, stinking of the smell of dead bodies. Storm was tending to the Professor, tears falling down her face. Rain began to fall around them, matching the sorrow Ororo felt. So many people dead and many more had been wounded. Morph and Vendetta were both with Colossus, helping him to bend his broke arms back into place. Jean stayed with Logan; he was in too much pain to fight back. Cable was keeping up a barrier around the UN, driving back what was left of Exodus's forces. Cyclops kept his eyes closed, afraid of adding more damage because of his broken visor. Angel was trying to snap Bobby out of his trance, the blood had practically become one with his ice form.

"This is no different from what every other tyrant has done before you, this is the same as every other man you claim to be better than." Slade said.

"Why are you here? Why are you getting involved?" Magneto asked.

"I'm here because I know that in order for peace to reign we have to understand one another, we have to understand our faults and be willing to change. New thinking is necessary not new genes. I'm willing to die, to make a better world a world worth living in, one I can be proud to leave my children in. Isn't that the same thing you want Eric?"

Magneto grinded his teeth together, trying to ignore this mans words. He would have to silence him permanently. Eric threw his hand forward, launching shrapnel towards the masked man. Slade ignited an energy shield on his left arm, disintegrating the shrapnel. He broke off into a run, ready to reach Magneto through violence if necessary. The Brotherhood eagerly ran forward. Slade jumped over Blob, and blocked a strike from Sabretooth. Magneto threw shards of metal, but Slade jumped onto the metal, practically bouncing between them and kicking Toad across the face. He punched a mutant with spikes on his back and kicked Domino in the gut. Slade blocked another slash from Sabretooth and slammed his shield into Wild Child's head, knocking the beast's jaw out of place.

"JUST KILL HIM!" Magneto yelled.

Avalanche created several rock pillars, but Slade ran around them. He moved faster than Avalanche could keep up, punching the mutant in the jaw. Then he grabbed Avalanche's shoulder and slammed their heads together. Avalanche's helmet cracked, then Slade finished him off with a knee to the mouth. Magneto threw a metal blade forward, slicing Slade's mask. A tuft of blonde hair popped out of the cut and the mask further tore as Slade took a punch to the head. His green eye glared at his attack before he knocked Pietro to the ground. He deflected a hex blast from Wanda, and then rolled to dodge a metal marble launched by Magneto.

"SCREAM FOR ME!" Sabretooth laughed.

The feral mutant slashed Slade across the back, cutting through his body armour. Slade swung around, slashing Sabretooth across the neck with his shield. He then hit the mutant again, and then flipped over Pyro jumping through the flames. Pyro widened his eyes in shock before Slade punched him in the face. Wanda threw her hands forward, hitting Slade with a hex bolt. He yelled in agony as his clothes tore. But despite the damage he still walked forward. Magneto looked at the man in shock as he walked past Wanda. Slade Reilly raised his hand, grabbing Magneto's shoulder.

"Eric Magnus Lensherr, I do not hate you, I actually once held great respect for you. You and Xavier had a dream, a dream that was worth having…protecting young mutants, and the people who are a part of this world as well. That was a dream worth having, just protecting our children, its also why I fight. My son, he deserves to live in a world where he can grow into a good person. What kind of person will he become, what kind of people will Wanda and Pietro become if they grow up in a world like the one you'll create, a world stained with blood and devoid of hope for the people you see as beneath you. Look at all this destruction; is that the world you want to leave your children? Look at your friend, whom you have betrayed, is that the example you want your children to follow?"

Eric looked the man in the eyes, Slade Reilly, a man of wisdom and honesty. The kind of man he should have stayed being. He looked around, seeing the damage his army had caused.

"Oh god, what have I done?" Eric asked. "This is the price of my arrogance, my insanity even."

"It's not too late to change, we're all only human, the first step towards changing the world is changing yourself. The first step towards achieving and keeping peace is understanding others."

The words echoed in Magneto's ears as he removed his helmet.

"Magnus, he's right, we have to change…not just the world but ourselves. The world can be changed one life at a time, we just need the patience to do it."

Charles and Slade both spoke the truth. He did need to change. Slade suddenly flinched, putting a hand to his chest. Magneto grabbed the man's shoulders as he fell to his knees.

"Sven…I'm sorry!" Slade whispered.

"NO!" Magneto yelled.

"The target has been dropped Magneto, he wont be causing us trouble anymore," Mystique said, looking down the scope of her rifle.

"Enough Raven, we have to stop this," Magneto said.

"I no longer answer to my slave name Lord Magnus!"

"ENOUGH! All of you, leave, go back to your homes, go back to peace, leave me here…leave me to suffer the fate I deserve!" Magneto said as he hugged the human's body.

That day, Magneto's perspective of the world changed. He realised how foolish and impatient he had been. But he knew that he wasn't quite ready to join his friend Xavier, to help young mutants control their powers in order to protect the world. Now he kneeled before Xorn, looking up at the creature in defiance.

"Looks like I did change Slade," Magneto chuckled.

He removed his helmet, holding it with one hand. Xorn huffed as he prepared an ice spike. Eric yelled, throwing the helmet forward. With a twist of his hand, he shifted the helmet, altering its form into a spike. Xorn fired his own spike, sending it flying past Magneto's shoulder. Blood ran out of Eric's nose as he concentrated with everything he had, hitting Xorn straight in the eye with the metal spike. Xorn's head circuitry sparked, revealing himself to be some kind of android. The machine slumped to the ground and all the metal objects around them fell from the sky.

'I have no regrets Charles, at least I know now that I managed to change myself,' Eric thought, opening his arms as one of the metal objects fell towards him.

* * *

Emma Frost looked at the two students with a mixture of annoyance and mischief. They were certainly both cute, no Virgil was handsome but Noah had a cute boy next door look to him.

"I'm going to ask you again Miss Frost and if you don't answer I'll call Sage," Virgil threatened.

"Sage is too busy in Cerebro, she won't notice little old me. Calm down boys, I'm sure there's a way we can work around this," Emma explained, swaying her hips a bit.

"If you've read our minds you'll know that I'm Asexual and Noah already likes someone else," Virgil said casually.

"Oh well, worth a try" Emma put a hand to her head and dived into the two boys minds.

Noah put his hands to his head as Emma entered his mind. He stood in a dark corridor, the light of the moon shining on the walls. Emma approached Noah, wearing her Hellfire garbs. Panic spread across Noah's face as he backed away.

"No, get away please, you don't know what he'll do to you," Noah gasped.

"Calm down Noah, maybe I could change your mind," Emma said.

"**I'm afraid I can't let you do that!"**

Emma raised her psychic defences as Noah's shadow began to move. A smirk spread across its face as Noah curled up into a ball. Much to Emma's shock the shadow grew bigger until it stood like a giant. Jagged lines appeared on its head, forming sinister eyes and a mouth. Emma put her hands to her ears as a deafening laugh echoed through the depths of Noah's mind. The voice sounded like Noah, yet the tone was completely different. Noah was still cowering as his shadow continued to laugh.

"**HA HA HA HA HA! WELCOME TO MY WORLD BITCH!"**

Emma changed to her diamond form, returning to the medical bay. Noah had been replaced by some kind of shadow creature, tentacles flapping on its back and its mouth twisted into an eager smile. So this was Noah's darkness!

Next Chapter 16: Traitor and truth

* * *

Next time, Karl finds out exactly what happened to turn him into an Omega Sentinel. The X-men struggle to keep Xavier and Magneto alive while Noah's other side faces off with the White Queen.

Sorry for the wait, tell me what you thought of the update


	16. Chapter 16

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

Here it is, the chapter where part of the Anti-Mutant groups plan is revealed. Karl now knows the truth and it drives him further into the cold logic of a machine. Plus the Xavier students face their own troubles. Hope you all enjoy!

* * *

The Dream We Share

Chapter 16: Traitor and Truth

Emma Frost was one of the most powerful psychics on the planet. But to meet two men capable of driving her out of their minds was a feat Emma never thought would be accomplished. Scott Summers was truly an interesting man, and that would make his defection to the Hellfire Club all the more sweeter. But this Noah person, he was a threat Emma couldn't afford to fight. Emma looked at the dark creature standing before her, his eyes glowed red as tentacles flapped around on his back.

"WELCOME TO PRIME TIME BITCH HA HAA HAA! I LOVE THAT LINE!" The creature yelled as he ran forward.

Emma changed her body into its diamond form, bringing her arms together as the creature threw its leg round. His kick struck her arms, but the force threw her to the side, hitting the wall. She recovered and altered her stance, blocking a claw swipe from the creature. Emma threw her fist forward, punching Noah across the face. The force of the diamond punch twisted Noah's head round, forcing him to step back. Emma smirked at Noah's broken neck, but then gasped as he twisted his head back round. A mouth appeared on the creature's face, forming a smile. Suddenly, he leapt forward and tackled Emma, smashing straight through the wall.

"This is going to be hard to explain," Virgil muttered.

The remaining students of the Xavier institute looked at the ground in shock as they heard the crashes. Josh kept his concentration on the Professor's wounds. His skin gave off a gold shine as he tried to heal his teacher. Suddenly, Quicksilver appeared and dumped another body onto the dinner table.

"Shit that's Magneto, we're not going to heal him," David said.

"You will heal my father if you know what's good for you," Pietro growled.

"Enough brother, we aren't here to fight, in fact the fate of every mutant on the planet hangs in the balance of us working together." Wanda explained.

"The world is doomed," Monet sighed.

"We should call the police," Kitty said.

Pietro suddenly ran to Kitty's side, grabbing her wrist before she could touch the phone.

"If you even dial one number you will regret it girl," Venom dripped from Pietro's voice.

Kitty narrowed her eyes before phasing out of Pietro's grip. The speedster widened his eyes before Kitty tripped him to the floor. Monet and Noriko looked at Kitty in shock before smiling at her accomplishment.

"Enough of this, I told you we didn't come here to fight," Wanda said.

"And the fact still remains Red Witch, you and your dad are terrorists, which means as dedicated citizens we have to report you" Monet explained, pushing Wanda with her finger.

"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!" Josh suddenly yelled.

The group looked at their friend as he put his hands on the wounds of Magneto and Xavier.

"I can't concentrate with you arguing, the fact is we've got lives to save here," Josh said.

Laurie nervously watched Josh work. The ground suddenly shook and Laurie stumbled into Jay's arms.

"Someone should go down there," Sofia said.

"We'll be right behind you," Quill nervously chuckled.

Another bang caused Quill to jump onto Santo's back. The rock skinned teen pulled Quill off and frowned at his cowardice. A brown haired boy shuffled his deck of cards, a habit he had to calm his nerves. Kevin kept as far away from the other students as he could. He didn't want to hurt any of them, especially considering the damage that was being done down below. If he stumbled and even touched one of the students, he would have more blood on his hands. He suddenly felt a cold hand touch his neck.

"Don't be afraid Kevin, I'm made of mercury, its inorganic so you cant hurt me," Cessily said.

"Sorry, its just, the first time my powers manifested I killed my father. I didn't mean to do it, but I can't forget it, I don't want anything like that to happen again." Kevin explained.

"It wont, so long as Xavier's here, everything will be fine Kevin…Josh will fix everything."

Emma held Noah in a headlock, repeatedly slamming his head into the wall. Noah's hand stretched and he grabbed Emma's legs. He swung the woman round before throwing her into the wall. The shadow creature crouched snarling at Emma. She looked at her torn clothes and then glared at the creature.

* * *

Karl walked into the suburban home, his eyes scanning the area as the X-men waited outside. Jean Grey knocked on the neighbour's front door, offering a comforting smile as they answered.

"Hello, this may seem like a strange question, but what happened to the people who lived in that house?" Jean asked.

"Those people, they move away a few months ago…actually it was about a year ago, no one here's complaining!" The woman said.

"Were they bad neighbours?" Ororo asked.

"Oh they certainly tried hard, but it was their "perfectionist" lifestyle that got to a lot of people. Their garden had been perfect, they always got to town hall meetings on time and lectured anyone who didn't. They'd go to church and were always trying to lecture the other children here about their behaviour, the way they would play, the music, what they wore, I'm up for child discipline but they were ridiculous. And their relationship with their son, god I hope I treat mine better."

"How did they treat him?"

"Like play dough to mould as they saw fit, they always tried to keep him away from any friends he could make. One time I heard that his father drove down to a party he was at and dragged the boy home, then he stopped him from signing up with a club because it conflicted with their church schedule, they even demanded he change his school essay."

"God they sound like dicks," Wolverine muttered.

"You don't know the half of it, these people tried to convince their son to change his school project, I heard he wrote an essay titled "What is wrong with Mutant registration", but his parents tried to get him to write about "Why mutants should register", I'm glad he wrote the former cause it was an eye opener."

"How was it eye opening?" Jean asked.

"He helped the community realise just how human mutants are, but his parents would have none if it, they…argued again and…listen this isn't easy to say," Wolverine noticed a slight shine to the woman's eyes.

"What happened darling?" He asked.

"They…" A sudden crash inside the house alerted the X-men and John and Jean rushed into the home.

Kurt teleported out of the jet and into the living room. He met up with John and Jean as they made their way to the kitchen. Karl was standing in the middle of the room, his fist straight through the window. Clearly the emotional part of his mind had reacted. He turned to the X-men, his eyes cold as he analysed the scene.

"Full recollection of memories complete, analysis of area complete, past actions concluded…my parents murdered me!"

"What, Karl what do you mean?" Jean asked.

Karl walked across the kitchen, planting his hand on the worktop. He then looked to the wall and at the open back door. The house was devoid of the decoration and household appliances that had once resided there. But Karl remembered everything; simply being in the place where it happened bought the memories back.

"You wont touch me again," He remembered growling.

He had the knife in his left hand and his father shoved against the fridge with his right. The man looked at his son in fear, knowing that the boy was prepared to do it. And Karl had every intention of killing his father that day, that was the memory that stood out most of all. The feeling of anger and pure resentment, years of abuse and hatred stemmed into one single moment that he wished he could take back. But before he could commit the act, the true tragedy of the day occurred. A gunshot echoed through the suburbs and then everyone stopped their daily routine. Gardeners stopped clipping their hedges, mowing their lawns and watering their flowers. Housewives stopped cooking their meals and the children stopped playing.

"Karl what's wrong?" Jean asked.

"Nothing of any concern Miss Grey, we are recollecting the memories. Subject Karl was engaging in a routine argument with his parents. This argument got out of hand and the subject attempted to terminate his father. His mother committed a termination for the sake of self preservation," Karl coldly explained.

"Wait, you mean she murdered you?" Kurt asked.

"Yes…the woman shot the subject in the chest, what happened can only be speculated as it is likely that the victim died before his parents called whatever contact they had," Karl explained.

"They called for an ambulance," Jean and Kurt turned to see Ororo and Hank standing at the doorway.

"They called the ambulance and apparently took him to the hospital, the neighbours outside told us," Ororo explained.

"Then the next step is to go to the local hospital and hack their records," Karl said.

"Wait, there's more to it than that, that woman was trying to tell us something before," Logan pointed out.

"I could do a scan of the people's minds, see if they know anything else," Jean said.

"No, that action will be unnecessary and will attract unwanted attention. Go to the hospital and ask the reception staff if the subject had ever been admitted to the hospital's care. I will pursue another lead at the church," Karl explained.

He walked past the X-men, only to stop at the door. Jean held him in place with her telekinesis, turning him around to face the group.

"You're not going alone Karl, and please stop talking like that," Jean frowned as Karl reached for his stunner.

"The presence of other team mates will not be necessary Marvel Girl, I am capable of finding the answers on my own," Karl said.

"Karl stop it, just stop all right, now you don't get a choice in the matter I'm sending people with you, I was put in charge of the team for a reason so follow my orders and shut up!" Jean dropped Karl and looked him in the eyes.

"Very well, I accept your orders," But Karl still remained cold.

They returned to the jet and began making plans for the day. Hank bought up a map of the area with the Black Bird's computer, while Lorna continued to care for the wounded X-men. Jean highlighted the hospital, the church and the local school. She looked at her teammates, which included the recently recovered mutants Jubilee and Rogue. The two girls needed the fresh air and change of scenery, plus any mission they were given would give Ororo and Lorna a chance to talk to them.

"All right, here's how it's going to be, three areas and three teams. Hank and Kurt, you two stay here with Ali, Beak and Rahne, give yourselves time to recover. I will go the Hospital with Sam, John and Bobby, we'll "convince" the staff to give us details on their patient, I know Charles wont approve but it's a line I think we have to cross. Ororo, I want you to go with Jubilee, Shiro and Peter to the school, ask the people there about a student named Karl Redding, find as much details as you can like when he stopped coming to school and any concerns they had with the parents. Logan you and Lorna take Marie and X to the church, the android wants to ask the priest there questions," Jean addressed the team, giving them their orders as she imagined Scott would.

Jubilee kept on her regular clothes, while Lorna provided Marie with a new set of clothes. Though what she wore now was more like a uniform by the X-men's standards. She tied her hair into a few knots, letting the white streak hang to the left of her left eye. The uniform consisted of a black suit with padding on the legs and arms. Yellow lines travelled along the chest and arms of the costume, which had an X on the belt. Marie of course included gloves, covering every inch of her skin.

"Aren't you going to be hot in that?" Jubilee asked, putting her coat on the co-pilot seat.

Marie simply ignored the girl, taking a coat off the clothes rack and putt the hood over her face. The Black Bird opened one of its hatches, revealing the three cars they would be using. Karl climbed into the front passenger seat, with Logan driving and the girl's in the back. Everyone went their separate ways, to the places they had been designated to go to. Ororo, Piotr and Shiro had abandoned their uniforms, choosing their casual clothes like Jubilee had done. After all part of the "mission" would involve talking to the students as well.

"How are you feeling Jubilee?" Ororo asked.

"Fine surprisingly, I'm just glad to be away from those Brotherhood weirdoes," Jubilee said.

"You were very brave back there Jubilee," Ororo smiled at the girl.

"Really, was that X-woman material?" The girls face practically lit up.

Piotr smiled while Shiro shook his head. The young Japanese man found this sort of mission to be a waste of time. He and Piotr had no idea what all this was about. But Ororo knew that Karl was actually the Sentinel that killed several of the Xavier students. Their mission must have been connected to his origin in some way. Ororo knew that this was a mission that had to be carried out, because not only would they be preventing other Sentinels like Karl from being created, but they would also have a chance to avenge the students that had been killed. Logan felt a similar thing as he drove his group down the private roads leading to the church.

"How are you feeling Marie?" Lorna asked.

"Do you really want to know?" Rogue didn't need to look at Lorna for her words to sting.

"I'm sorry, I know its not easy but there are people at the institute who can understand your situation," Lorna ignored the look Logan gave her, warning her not to go any further with this. "One of the students Kevin, his touch actually kills people, he's got the same problem you have," The Green haired girl put her hand on Marie's shoulder.

Suddenly, Marie slapped the girl's hand away, glaring at her.

"Don't ever touch me and don't ever try to sympathise. This Kevin guy kills people, me, Ah take parts away from them. When I touched Cody, Ah wasn't just knocking him out; Ah was taking his memories, his football experience and practically his whole life. Ah did the same thing with your friend Jean Grey, and Ah can feel her experiences and her memories, even her power…"

"Good, that will be useful in extracting information if Stryker refuses to answer our questions," Karl cut into the conversation before Marie did anything to further upset Lorna.

"Ah don't want religious nonsense floating around in my head Karl, and just call me Rogue now," The girl said.

"Rogue, what's wrong with Marie?" Logan asked.

"Cody almost never called me Marie, plus my adopted mamma would sometimes call me her little rogue. So that's what I'll be as part of the X-men, if society rejects us we become Rogue's against them right?"

"Damn right girl, all right we're almost there, X, you'd better be ready to ask the questions you came here to get answered."

Karl nodded his head, gripping his stunner, allowing a small moment of emotion. But the emotion quickly faded, replaced by the cold logic. Find Priest William Stryker; obtain information that will lead to Bastion, then delete the source.

* * *

Jean and her group walked into the local hospital. They didn't attract attention because Jean was using her telepathy to fool the patients in the waiting room. Instead of seeing costumed super heroes, they saw regular sick people like them. The hospital didn't actually seem too busy, there were only ten people waiting for treatment, which was actually strange in comparison to other hospitals they had seen.

"Not very crowded here huh?" Jean asked the male receptionist.

"Yeah we do all right here, all though we pretty much owe that to Doctor Hodge. His technology and charity has helped us to treat accident victims, amputees, even cancer patient," The young man explained.

"Really, it sounds like he's developed some kind of miracle cure," Jean said, leaning against the desk with a smile across her face.

Bobby and John both rolled their eyes as the receptionist blushed. Despite this he was still eager to flirt back.

"Well that's what the local reverend says, although if you ask me Hodge is just the front guy, there must be someone else in the lab doing all the work."

"I bet there is, where would Hodge be at this time of day?"

"Actually he's not even in town, he's probably up in Washington trying to get his little miracle treatments made public."

"Sounds like you've been kept in the dark, you wouldn't happen to have been kept in the dark about Karl Redding have you?" Jean asked.

"Sorry Miss but that's against hospital policy, we cant give out details about patients," The man dropped his smile as he got off his chair. "Do you and your friends have any injuries or appointments to book in or are you just going to waste my time?"

Bobby blinked in confusion while John narrowed his eyes at the man. He had suddenly changed his tone; simply telling Jean hospital confidentiality policies would have been enough. Jean lingered for a moment before walking away. Bobby and John followed her out of the hospital, stopping near a parked ambulance. She put a hand to her lips, hushing the two men before they could ask what was on their minds. Jean closed her eyes, addressing her teammates with her telepathy.

**"I cant read that receptionists mind, its not simple resistance it's an actual psychic block. That and something's been done to his mind, a brain washing or hypnosis of sorts, if we mention Karl Redding then he'll immediately try to draw us away with hostility."**

'Basically he knows about Karl and he's been brainwashed into making sure no one gets that information out of the hospital,' John thought.

**"You were thinking exactly what I was John, lets get back to the Black Bird and call the institute, we'll get Miss Sage to hack into the hospital records and see what they've got on Karl Redding!"**

* * *

Ororo's trip to the school was actually going rather well. Jubilee was talking with people her own age, getting along with them and exchanging fashion tips. Piotr had of course attracted a loud of girls, who all asked him about Russia. Ororo however remained focused on the task at hand and set out to find out what happened to Karl. She went directly to the principles office, putting a phone in Jubilee's pocket so that she could call if there was trouble. The principle was a balding African American man named Mr Tucker; he was at first taken aback by Ororo's appearance.

"My assistant said I had a visitor, please Miss sit down" The man politely gestured to the chair in front of his desk.

"Hello Mr Tucker, my name is Ororo, Ororo Munroe. Thank you for seeing me on such short notice, I've kind of been in a rush these past few weeks," Ororo chuckled, ignoring the fact she'd spent the past day fighting super villains.

"I know how that is, but don't be in too much of a rush young lady, time gets pretty quick when you're my age, you should enjoy the time you have now."

"I agree wholeheartedly, you see my family will be moving here quite soon so I came to see the area for myself. The whole communities made me feel very welcome, I'm actually surprised by how diverse the local populace are," Ororo wasn't lying; she had in fact been shocked by how accepting the people had been.

Mr Tucker leant back in his chair, smiling as he recounted the diverse culture of his hometown.

"I'm glad your feeling welcome, we've had rough spots in fact a few years ago we had an anti mutant faze, a group called the Friends of Humanity made their home here, you've probably heard of them," Tucker said.

"Oh yes, they were just thugs attacking helpless mutants without any real powers," Ororo practically growled with disgust as she recounted those days.

"True, they recruited a lot of young students here, they actually had the gall to come to my house and ask for my son. I of course turned them away, when I was you age I saw first hand what groups like that did, I even lost a best friend because of it," The older man lowered his head slightly.

"The Ku Klux Klan!"

"Yes, this country though diverse still refuses to accept the differences of others, if it wasn't mutants then these "friends of humanity" would be mongering hate for African American's, Jews, Muslims, Spanish and homosexuals. Mutant kind is just the latest trend of hate, it'll get better but it may never fade Miss Munroe."

Ororo raised her eyebrows before widening her eyes. She suddenly realised what the older man must be thinking.

"Oh you don't think I'm…"

"I'm not a fool Miss Munroe, or should I say Blessed Queen of the Storms."

Mr Tucker merely smiled, while Ororo remained too flabbergasted to even gasp. The older man was clearly an American by birth, but had he been in Africa when Storm was younger?

"You've certainly grown I can see, one would go so far as to saying you were American like me. I've never actually been to my ancestor's birthplace but I do know of what happens there, a friend of mine worked in the charity organisations that helped to provide for the undeveloped villages before you suddenly appeared. He actually sent me pictures of his work; I was rather shocked to see that the "goddess" was a 15-year-old girl," Tucker explained, smiling as Ororo fidgeted. "Don't worry Miss Munroe, I can imagine your trying to get away from that crazier time of your life, there is still hate lingering here but there is none in the schools, the hate mongering of those whom refuse to move into the next phase of society has stopped reaching our children."

"You mean the Reddings?" Ororo asked.

"Ah the Reddings, that's a name I haven't heard in a long time. I assume you've been to the estate, the deserted house used to belong to Lionel Redding, he was a terrible Professor, we actually suspended him for refusing to teach a homosexual student. His son was quite all right though."

Tucker knew Karl that much Ororo assumed. She knew that this was her opportunity to get information out about what may have happened to Karl.

"I had heard his son…I think his name was Karl right? Anyway I heard he had been a student here, he apparently wrote a very interesting article about why mutant registration shouldn't be bought in," Ororo said.

Again Tucker lowered his head, though before it had been subtle this time Ororo noticed the action more. For a moment Ororo could see the faint evidence of a tear in Tucker's eye. He ran his finger across the side of his desk as he nodded in agreement.

"The essay hadn't just been about registration, it was about race and the idea of humanity in general. Karl Redding was a brilliant student, though he wasn't top of the class he was gifted, he could explain computers and machinery better than our own technology teachers could," Mr Tucker chuckled, leaning his chin against his hand as he sighed. "For an English assignment the students were given the task of writing an essay on whatever subject interested them, a few students chose to plagiarise other work or talk about who their heroes were. But Karl came in one day, he handed in his essay last and the English teacher Miss Williams spent virtually her whole break reading this essay again and again. It was later on that she asked me to read it, and this essay was truly amazing, it opened my eyes to things I never really thought about. We suggested putting it in the school paper and soon everyone is reading this article written by a young man whom always kept to himself, whom rarely talked to others outside of a hello. I think he had an affect on the whole community, an affect his father didn't like."

The older man stopped, wiping his eyes as he walked to his window. He took a deep breath, calming his nerves and Ororo immediately knew what he was about to say. She didn't need to have telepathy or empathy to put it all together. Mr Tucker could have stopped, but it seemed talking it through helped him to deal with the grief over the tragedy.

"I don't know what happened in that house, only that those…monsters killed that boy, that boy who understood more than he let on. The Police never caught them, but we did what we could for the poor boy, we put his essay on display, so that everyone could see it."

"Oh god," Ororo whispered.

"But other than that this is a wonderful place to live in, Doctor Hodge over at the hospital is using his companies advanced technology to treat cancer patients and accident victims. Was their anything else you wanted to know Miss Munroe?" Mr Tucker asked.

He didn't look away from his window, but Ororo could tell that the man was crying. She got off her seat and respectfully bowed.

"No thank you sir, thank you for the information," She said before walking out of the man's office.

Once she was out, Ororo realised she had been crying too. She took out her handkerchief and wiped her eyes. After walking through down the school corridors for at least a few minutes, she finally met up with Jubilee. The girl's eyes remained locked on a display board. While others showed school newspaper articles or the accomplishments of art students, this board was dedicated to a single framed piece of paper and the group of words above it.

"In memory of Karl Redding, 1995-2010!"

Ororo reached into her pocket and removed her phone. She lined up the camera, taking a picture of the essay. Karl was becoming more and more like a machine. Her hope was that seeing this essay would spark something inside him. She hoped that the memory of his past accomplish would remind him what it meant to be alive.

"Wow, what a tragedy," Jubilee said.

"You have no idea, come on lets find Peter and get back to the jet," Ororo put on a smile as she guided Jubilee.

* * *

The fighting had engulfed the mansion. Noah and Emma rolled across the floor, Noah's talons shredding Emma's shirt. She slammed her fist into the shadow creature's jaw, putting it out of place. He swung his head round, clicking his mouth back into place and laughing at the top of his lungs. Emma punched Noah in the chest and grabbed the skin of his back. The diamond woman ran into the wall, slamming the student against the cold hard surface. Virgil ran out of the medical bay and looked at the damage that had been done so far. He didn't show it but he was actually amazed at Emma Frost's fighting skills. She tripped Noah to the floor, slamming her heel into Noah's neck. But he tied his tentacles around her heel, throwing her to the floor. He pulled the high-heeled shoe out of his neck, grinning as his shadow armour protected him. Emma rolled to her right as Noah jumped towards her. She jumped to her feet and delivered a swift upper cut to Noah's chin. Then she grabbed his arm and tripped him to the floor, twisting the boy's arm in a lock.

"Go on break it, I day you White Bitch!" Noah cackled.

Virgil ran down the corridor, creating two crystal projectiles. He threw his hand forward, sending the shards flying at the Queen. They only brushed past her, but they had the intended effect of warning her. She backed away from the student and quickly turned off her diamond skin. Then she put her hands on her hips and grinned seductively at Virgil.

"Did you not remember the A-Sexual comment earlier?" Virgil asked.

Emma widened her eyes before Noah got up off the floor. She changed her skin to diamond, but Noah already struck. The tentacles on his back sharpened and stabbed into Emma's shoulders, pinning her against the wall. She didn't scream, after all her perception of pain was limited in diamond form. But that didn't stop the creature from taking pleasure in her discomfort.

"Wow, if you turn back to flesh this is gonna hurt like a bitch isn't it, hell the pain might even kill you. Looks like you learn something everyday, diamond bitches cant bleed AH HAA HA HAA!" Noah's laughter echoed down the corridor.

Virgil several more crystal projectiles, surrounding Emma's head. The door to Cerebro opened and Sage walked down the corridor.

"What are you two doing, Emma Frost is a teacher here," Sage said.

"Don't tell me you didn't feel what she was doing to Scott, you're a telepath right, why didn't you sense her brain washing Scott?" Virgil asked.

"What brainwashing?" Sage turned the question on Emma.

"They're lying, you have to believe me," Emma said.

"Don't play games with me bitch, you got into Scott's head just like you did Noah's," The Shadow growled.

"Noah, put Emma Frost down, I will scan her mind with telepathy!" Sage ordered.

"No way, you were ignoring the situation before, don't tell me you were so focused in Cerebro you didn't notice what was going on in the school. We've got two wounded people upstairs, I don't even need to be upstairs to know that everyone is pissing themselves," The Shadow creature explained.

"I wont ask again Noah…"

"THAT IS NOT MY NAME!" The creature yelled.

"Sage, why didn't you notice what was happening?" Virgil asked.

"Using Cerebro requires great focus and concentration, I was monitoring several mutant signatures while simultaneously coordinating the X-men," Sage explained.

Virgil thought for a moment, that was a good enough answer for him. Noah, or whatever the Shadow creature was called was a different story. His suspicions wouldn't waver until he had absolute proof.

"You bitches have cells here right, lets just put her in there until the Professor wakes up," He said.

Sage put a hand to her chin, thinking of the creature's simple plan. She then nodded her head and walked to the holding cells. Noah threw Frost into the cell, and Sage engaged the bars. The Shadow creature twitched as he began to revert back to Noah's normal appearance. He breathed heavily as he walked with Virgil and Sage back towards the elevator. They travelled up to the surface and walked into the group of students waiting.

"Miss Sage, the Professor's been hurt," Sofia said.

"And them Maximoff twins bought old Magneto down here too," The Cajun youth added.

"Calm down all of you, where is the Professor now?" Sage asked.

"In the living room with Josh," Morph said.

Sage rushed to the living room, seeing Josh healing both Magneto and Xavier. Sweat ran down the side of his head, his eyes closed firmly shut as his hands glowed. He ran his hands over the two men's wounds, doing his best to stop the bleeding. Unknown to the rest of the team the communicator down in the war room was blaring.

* * *

Jean tapped her hand against the Black Bird's communications console impatiently. Something had to be going on at the mansion. She lost telepathic contact with the Professor and no one at the mansion was responding to hails. But what worried her most were Scott's condition, and the chances of him recovering. Ororo and her team stepped back into the jet; Jean took notice of their heavy looks. They must have learnt something about Karl back at the school. But Logan's group hadn't yet reported back.

"Beast can you hack the hospital records?" Jean asked.

"Well putting aside how unethical it would be I'd like to remind you that the Blackbird isn't built with a computer network, just the Xavier database and our communication channels," Hank said, stitching a cut on Beak's back.

"SHIT! Watch it fuzz ball!" Beak growled.

"Sorry feather brain," Hank grinned.

Despite the situation Beak allowed himself to chuckle. Jean leant back against her chair, sighing as she attempted to contact the mansion again.

* * *

Logan and his group walked into the church just as the latest congregation ended. They waited for the churchgoers to exit before making their move. William Stryker stood at the alter in full ceremonial dress. His silver hair marked his experience and his kind expression didn't shift as the group approached him.

"Hello, how may I help you?" Stryker asked.

"You are William Stryker correct?" Karl asked a question he knew the answer to.

"Yes my son, how may I help you?"

With the information clarified, Karl's arm shot out, wrapping its fingers firmly around Stryker's neck.

"The organs in this units shell once belonged to Karl Redding," Karl's voice had become a reflection of the hollow voice of a sentinel.

Stryker gasped as Karl lifted him off the floor.

"Karl? You're the Bio sentinel?" Lorna asked.

"Correct, I was Karl Redding, William Styrker, you know of what happened that day. This is not a question, you are not a suspect, and we know of your guilt and your facial reaction clarifies that you know of the fate of Karl Redding. Answer the questions I give you quickly or I will have mutant designate Rogue absorb your recorded data!"

Lorna stared at the sentinel in shock while Stryker struggled to get free.

"In case you don't know what that means father, basically I touch you and suck your memories dry," Rogue added to what she thought was a threat.

"Karl, my son why didn't you complete your mission?" Stryker asked.

Karl let Stryker go, letting him crawl across the floor.

"You were supposed to wipe away the Hell spawn, to do gods work. God made you his angel, to do his work!"

"SHUT UP!" Logan roared, popping out his claws.

He picked the Reverend up and pinned him against the alter. The feral mutant stabbed his claws into the priest's hand, taking no delight in the following scream.

"THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH…"

"STOP IT! YOUR NOT A SERVANT OF GOD! YOUR NOT A PRIEST!" Wolverine yelled.

"This place isn't even a church, your just a hate monger who uses god as an excuse for his disgusting acts, tell Karl what happened now," Rogue ordered.

"He was turned into an angel to do gods bidding!"

"ENOUGH! STOP PRETENDING!"

Karl walked to Rogue's side and grabbed her wrist. He slipped off her glove and moved her hand towards Stryker's face. She struggled, pushing against his chest as he continued his actions. Stryker himself also struggled, screaming even before Rogue's fingers made contact. Though she only touched him with her fingers, Rogue still felt that sharp pain of her victim. She threw herself back, putting her hands to her head as she screamed. Images flooded through her mind, memories of Stryker's life. She saw his views of religion and the day he murdered his mutant son and wife, all in the name of god. They all flooded her mind like pictures on a slideshow. But the event she was looking for came to her like a video.

She was looking through Stryker's eyes, staring at the body of poor Karl Redding. He muttered a prayer, running a hand across Karl's chest, once and then twice to form the shape of a cross. Karl's parents were sitting in the corner, watching with empty eyes as their son was put onto a stretcher. Rogue knew that they weren't paramedics, because she now had Stryker's knowledge. The ambulance did go to the hospital, to a man named Cameron Hodge.

"My implants are good but they cant bring back people who are already dead," The grey haired man said.

He tilted his glasses nervously, an action Stryker felt like mimicking as the room went silent. Stryker lowered his head as another man walked into the room. He looked at Karl's body, almost intrigued by the events that had happened. Then the man looked at Karl's parents.

"How would you like to have the son you've always wanted?" The man's voice was sophisticated, almost cultured.

With a flash Rogue was taken to where it all happened. She saw electrical equipment blaring, lighting up a whole room as men worked on Karl's body. Stryker saw them as angels, but Rogue saw them for what they were. They were simple scientists, working for a man named Bastion. Equipment had been set at the tables around the stretcher. The whole lab was dirty, like the kind you would see in horror movies. Stryker saw it as something different entirely, but Rogue had enough control to see past the man's insanity. She had never seen the equipment before, even if she had a limited understand of surgery she knew that doctors didn't use some of the equipment. One thing she did recognise was a surgical knife.

"Making the first incision now," The scientist said.

Rogue cringed as the man dug the knife into Karl's chest. The other scientists began to hack at the unnecessary parts of Karl's body, parts they wouldn't need for the Bio-Sentinel. They took his organs, lungs, eyes, heart and brain and began shoving them into a body made from both alloys and synthetic skin materials. One of the lead scientists took the brain and began putting cybernetic components on it.

"Tell me Bastion, what will god tell our angel to do?" Stryker asked the man beside him.

"No doubt the Proto-Omega's first mission will be to weaken and gather data on the X-men…the servants of the devil," Bastion smirked.

At the time Stryker had ignored the man, not realising the lie he was living. The scientists stepped away from the Bio Sentinel as the power source on its chest glowed. Karl Redding, or rather the Proto-Omega looked around the room coldly. Bastion walked forward, pushing a button on the intercom.

"Give us your designation," Bastion ordered.

"I am Sentinel Prime unit Prototype, P-Omega-0, code designation Proto-Omega!"

"Outline your mission parameters, both long term and short term."

"Long term goal of The Collective involves the protection of humans and elimination of the mutant condition, short term mission: data collection of mutant group designation X-men and elimination of most powerful members!"

Bastion smiled and Stryker smiled, believing that his Church of Humanity had gained a new weapon. That was when he thought something that bought fear to Rogue's mind. He thought of a plan to make these Bio-Sentinels in mass production. To turn the dying and the suffering into God's army of angels.

"It was him, he organised all of it," Rogue said as she came back to reality.

"Please explain mutant designate Rogue," Karl said.

"Karl, your father was a part of a group Stryker was putting together, they called themselves the Church of Humanity. Their goal is to kill all mutants all over the world in the name of god. In fact they even believed this Bastion guy to be a prophet of god or something. When your mother killed you, they called Stryker, who called Bastion and took you body to the guy funding the hospital, Cameron Hodge. Then they used his technology along with a lot of other things I didn't recognise to revive your organs and use them to power a body made from some metal and whatever they didn't throw away from your body."

Karl lowered his body before looking at Stryker. He raised his stunner, pressing it against the man's head.

"What are you doing?" Logan asked.

"Deleting the original source material," Karl said coldly.

"Wait Karl you don't have to do this," Rogue grabbed Karl's shoulders.

"Confusing, can any forgiveness be found for this man's illogical actions? Hate is illogical, his belief in god is illogical, and his insanity will lead to the deaths of many."

Logan popped his claws out of Stryker's hand and shoved him off the alter. The reverend ran as fast as he could for the door. He planted a hand on Karl's shoulder, causing him to lower the pistol.

"Come on, lets get out of here, Stryker can run to wherever he wants, we know where to look for the evidence now. Hodge has likely got a big company we can look into, they cant run from the law for long," Wolverine explained.

Karl put his stunner back on his hip and put a hand to his head. His emotions returned, at least temporarily enough for him to realise something.

"Its not over, mass production of Bio-Sentinels is a logical course of action if the termination of mutants is desired. Cameron Hodge is creating more Bio-Sentinels, using his cybernetic implant technology to create sleeper agents. We have already seen cybernetic humans; they have used the same technology as what was used to create the first Omega Sentinel. But that is not all, by cloning genetic materials from humans and perhaps mutants Cameron Hodge can modify them with Sentinel technology," Karl explained.

"Wait, do you mean he can create Sentinel clones of mutants?" Polaris asked.

"It is a logical course of action!"

* * *

At the mansion, Josh continued to heal the two patients. Sage kept her eyes on Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch, wondering if in some way Magneto had somehow changed. The other students remained in the common room, waiting patient for any news. Monet suddenly raised her head and looked out of the window.

"What's wrong Monet?" Sofia asked.

"We've got guests," Monet said.

The students got off their seats and looked towards the window. Waiting outside was a group of five apparent mutants. But when they stepped closer the students for a good look at them. One had a pair of angelic wings, but had metallic plates on his chest and face. His wings were also darker than Angel's. Crouched on the floor was a man with abnormally sized feet and hands. He had bionic eyes of some kind and hydraulic pumps on his legs. Stood behind him was a boy with metallic components on the right side of his body, but pure ice on his left side, cold steam rising from his crystal skin. Leading them was a woman with savagely cut red hair, her eyes glowed red while cybernetic armour covered her chest and thighs. But the real leader of the group had a grey visor fused to his face, the ruby quartz material glowing red.

"Oh shit, anyone feel like going outside?" Quill asked.

"This week has just gotten better and better," Monet growled.

They were all dressed in x-men uniforms, leading to one logical conclusion:

"Clones," Jay said.

"Old and improved it looks like, except for the Jean copy of course," Morph grinned.

"Wait till they get a loud of us," Julian smirked.

Always the ringleader Julian made the first move.

Next Chapter 17: Prime Sentinels

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, next time the X-students face off against the Sentinel clones while the X-men further investigate Karl's past.


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

* * *

The Dream We Share

Chapter 17: Prime Sentinels

Karl walked with Wolverine and Rogue, while Polaris made her way back to the X-jet. Right now there was no time to be patient. His human instinct told him to get a move on, while his machine logic calculated that the devastation caused by not acting now would be catastrophic. The prototype Omega Sentinel, now an X-man walked straight into the hospital. His sudden appearance caused patients to gasp as he walked over to the reception. Karl's machine side became dominant as he looked down at the receptionist.

"Allow this unit access to your medical records," He coldly demanded.

"What, what the hell are you?" The male nurse asked.

Wolverine and Rogue remained outside, keeping an eye out for any authorities. Logan walked over to a police car, checking to see if the cops were near. He popped the tires with his claws and eyed a nearby bike. A smile crossed his face as the southern belle already lifted off the cover near the ignition and began hot-wiring the vehicle. Karl walked into the office area and lifted off one of his gauntlets, then he realised that this model was different from Sentinel. He didn't have a wire that would enable him to uplink to the hospital computers. So he needed to access any files the old fashioned way. Sitting down at one of the desks, Karl began tapping the keys on the computer, rummaging through each encrypted files. With every file he opened he skimmed through the date, removing any names of dates that weren't of relevance. His main target was patient check ins. In the past few months he recorded over fifty patients checking in for surgery to be implanted with special cybernetics to replaced kneecaps, legs and even some organs. His human instinct told him to be suspicious of these implants, especially concerning whom they were connected to.

Cameron Hodge was not only a liar who hid behind the persona of a philanthropist, but also a conspirator in a plan to eradicate mutants. Karl's human side showed as he realised something about his opinion on mutants. He wasn't a neutral person whom simply wasn't bothered by mutants. Far from it, he didn't see them as the future but just another culture that needed to be accepted. By accepting others and learning to understand them, adjusting your society to fit them into it peace was possible. A world where everyone understood one another: that was the world Karl wanted.

Again utilising his human instinct, Karl looked through the drawers of the nurses and staff members. He practically analysed every inch of the draws, trying to find something, anything that would point him in a direction. Some of the doctors had medical journals and staff members had small notes. He checked the notes, small minor things like reminders for shopping or holiday dates. That's when he realised, some of these dates coincided with his murder. The ambulance that took him was obviously faked. But some of the staff members may have called for a break, taken the cybernetics and called on a doctor who was away to implant the devices into his body to keep him alive. If that was the case then this conspiracy involved people in the town as well.

* * *

Chaos engulfed the school campus. Julian and his friends eagerly rushed for the fight. Santo took ice blast from the Iceman clone while Julian tested his TK against the Marvel Girl clone. The Cyclops clone fired a blast that tore chunks off of the grass, leaving a trail of destruction before the beam slammed into Morph. Students inside the mansion watched in shock as Morph took the blast. When the dust settled, Morph stretched his fist towards the clone, punching him across the face. Morph's skin bubbled as he rushed towards the Cyclops clone. The Beast and Angel clones crawled and flew respectively towards the smashed windows. Santo had long since jumped out of the main hall window to start the fight.

"What are we going to do?" Laurie asked.

"I'llholdthemoff, anyonewhowantstorungoahead!"

Quicksilver ran out of the mansion, slamming into Beast and throwing him into the Angel clone. They both rolled across the floor, before the Beast clone swung his feet at Quicksilver. Pietro easily dodged the kick and jumped over Beast, punching Angel then backhanding the beast as he turned around.

"I don't know about you guys but I'm not going to stand around and wait," Monet said as she made her way for the door.

The Marvel Girl clone fired a telekinetic blast, knocking Julian back. He rolled across the floor before the clone threw him against the wall. Monet looked at Julian as he fell with his back resting against the wall. She then looked to the Marvel Girl clone and huffed.

"So you're supposed to be Jean huh, now there's definitely no contest as to which one of us is prettier," Monet said.

She flew straight towards the clone, slamming her fist against its barrier. The force of her punch threw the android back, lifting her into the air. Monet flew after her opponent, continuing to bombard her barrier. Morph yelled as the Cyclops clone fired a blast that knocked him to the ground. The Angel clone drew a knife from his belt as he dived towards one of the mansion windows. He crashed through the window, landing in Kitty's room. Kitty ran through the wall, phasing straight through as the clone ran after her. She gasped as the knife rushed past her cheek, hitting the wall in front of her.

"What's going on up there?" Sage asked over the radio.

But no one was answering. Sofia and Laurie were helping Wanda take Magneto and Xavier to a safer place, while Noriko was charging her electrical gauntlets. She braced herself as she heard one of the Cyclops clones optic blasts. Morph suddenly crashed through the floor, knocking Noriko and Jay to the floor. The Cyclops clone marched into the mansion, his visor glowing as he looked at the unconscious students. He prepared to fire another blast, but stopped as a card collided with his arm. The card suddenly exploded, blowing off the android clones arm. A flurry of spikes were then thrown into his chest, revealing the sparking circuitry beneath.

"Now this is target practice," Quill said as he retracted more spikes from his arms.

The brown haired student beside him shuffled the cards in his deck before throwing one after another. His projectiles glowed with a pink energy before exploding on contact with the android's body, ripping off parts of his flesh. Quill's momentary courage was replaced with disgust as wires and entrails hung out of the android's damaged body. Blood and oil oozed into the carpet, but that didn't stop Remy LeBeau. He grabbed another card and threw it towards the clone's head, blowing it open.

"That's disgusting," Kevin said as he walked out of his cover.

The android's hands twitched before the students widened their eyes in horror. Slowly, the android's parts began to shift. A sickening crack echoed through the hall mansion as the broken android seemingly expanded its organic components. Wires seeped out of the machines shattered ribcage, wrapping around the arm and attaching it to the chest. The machine repaired itself into a husk of flesh and wires with an arm that opened its palm, revealing a cannon that gradually expanded. Suddenly the energy the android had stored flew out of the cannon. Remy dived to the side as the energy consumed the wall behind him. The mansion now had a large hole on its left side, and it quickly developed another one as the android fired another blast.

"Oh my god," Laurie gasped.

Sofia shared her friends fear, but still kept Laurie's pheromones under control with her wind. They walked out of the mansion's back exit with Josh and Wanda, resting the two wounded by the cliff side. Josh wiped the sweat from his head as he pressed his hands against both his teacher and Magneto's chests. Laurie put her hands on Josh's shoulders, closing her eyes as she put soothing pheromones into Josh's body. Inside the mansion, Remy ran and jumped over furniture as the cannon android-fired blast after blast with its eyes beams. He reached into his pocket, extending a metallic pole. Slamming the end of the pole into the ground, Remy jumped towards the top of the staircase and ran down the corridor. David carried Noriko away while Quill dragged Jay by his shoulders.

"At this rate the whole mansion will fall apart," David said.

"No kidding," Quill muttered.

Kitty suddenly ran into the room, puffing and panting.

"They're inside," She whispered.

"NO SHIT GENIUS!" Quill yelled.

Remy stopped his run as he came face to face with the Angel clone. The android grabbed him by his neck and flew down the corridor. He flew into the entrance hall, throwing Remy onto a set of drawers. Remy rubbed his head as he got up off the floor, drawing another card. He felt the ground shake as Monet threw the Marvel Girl clone to the ground. Monet landed on the android, punching a hole straight through its armour. She walked away from the android, thinking that it was destroyed. Suddenly the android sprung to life, its teeth sharpening and the metal on its arms expanding. Monet turned to the android, crossing her arms as the bigger machine punched her. The force of the punch threw Monet back and she hit the wall, creating an imprint of herself. Julian got up off the floor and raised a barrier around Remy as the cannon android launched another attack. Remy was sheltered from the brunt of the attack, but Julian soon passed out from the strain. Monet flew back towards the Marvel android as it began to change. Its arms opened to reveal rocket launchers and the skin on the androids face melted, revealing an android with razor sharp teeth.

"Where the hell are the X-men?" David asked.

"There's a reason they're away, but I do admit they should be here too," Jay said as he regained consciousness.

Noriko groaned as she recovered, with David helping her up off the floor. Quill looked into the main hall, watching as Remy desperately dodged the cannon androids optic blasts. Maxwell Jordan gritted his teeth together as he watched Jay Guthrie fly into the Angel clone. He rubbed his head, looking to David as he helped Noriko towards the window. Again he looked at Remy, watching the Cajun duck behind cover. Jay dived to the floor with the Angel clone. They rolled across the carpet and onto the dirt outside the mansion. The angel clone grabbed Jay's arm, slamming him cheek first against a tree. Jay suddenly slammed his elbow into the clone's face, knocking out the android's fake teeth.

"What's going on here?" Sage asked as she, Virgil and Noah exited the elevator.

"It's an attack Cheri, they must be organic Sentinels of some kind," Gambit said.

The cannon wielding android turned to Sage and fired its cannon. But Virgil stepped in the way, creating a diamond shield that sent the blast flying back into the air. He created a crystal platform, floating him, Noah and Sage off of the floor and away from the cannons optic blasts. Jay flew across the campus, exchanging punches with the Angel clone. Santo slammed his fists into the Iceman clone, shattering the left side of the clone's body. The clone then fired a laser blast from the palm of its hand, throwing Santo back. Monet punched the Marvel Girl clone as hard as she could, splitting its head open. But the androids head began to piece itself back together before firing an optic blast into Monet's chest.

"Oh my god, it's all happening today, why today?" Noah asked, gripping his head as his eyes turned to a black colour.

"Noah remain calm, your powers will flare up again if you let your emotions get the better of you," Sage explained.

Virgil stepped forward, creating a crystal that deflected the Cyclops clone's optic blast. But that alone didn't stop the clone as it aimed its cannon. Remy threw another charged card, knocking the clone back as it fired the cannon. A wide red beam shot through the roof, attracting the attention of nearby civilians. Monet crossed her arms together and blocked more psionic blasts from the Marvel Girl clone. She then grabbed the android's legs and pulled as hard as she could. Using her superior strength, Monet ripped off the android's legs before smacking the android to the ground. Jay tackled the Angel clone, pushing him against the side of a tree. The Angel clones hands expanded before his skin was ripped off, revealing razor sharp metal claws. Jay quickly flew back as the android slashed at him. The Beast clone punched Pietro across the head, sending him rolling across the floor. Quicksilver rubbed the blood on his mouth before he began to run. Suddenly, the Iceman clone froze his legs, causing him to fall to the floor.

"Shit," Pietro gasped.

The Beast clone leapt towards Quicksilver, opening his mouth to reveal a set of razor sharp fangs. Suddenly a red blast flew into the clone, ripping off his synthetic skin. Wanda flew out of the mansion window, straight to her brother's side. But the Iceman clone marched towards them, creating an ice spike with his powers. Julian shook his head as he got up off the floor, looking to Iceman as he walked towards the Maximoff twins. Inside the mansion, Cessily ducked as another blast flew through the wall. Surge grabbed David, rushing him out of the way just as the Cyclops clone fired another blast.

"We need to get out and fast," Sofia said.

"No, we can't move Xavier and Magneto too far, it's a miracle Quicksilver was able to get them here," Josh said.

Quill dived to the left as the clone fired off another blast. Remy threw two more cards, hitting the clone's chest. The Cajun reached for his holster, widening his eyes as he gripped air. He was all out of cards, which meant he had to use the objects around him. Noah swung his fist round, firing a blast from his gauntlet. The beam connected with his target, throwing the Cyclops clone through the wall. Jay flew through the forests near the mansion, dodging branches and logs with the Angel clone in close pursuit. He flew through a bush, going out of the forest. The Angel clone easily hacked at the leaves and grinned as he got closer and closer towards his target. Jay flew higher and higher towards the clouds. He looked over his shoulder, widening his eyes as the clone barely touched his foot. Jay kicked the clone's jaw and dived into a cloud.

"Santo, get up," Julian ordered his friend.

The rock skinned teen groaned as he got up off the floor. He narrowed his eyes at the Iceman clone as he raised his ice spear at the Maximoff's. Julian and Santo nodded to one another, knowing exactly what they had to do. Santo raised his arms, firing his fists like rockets. The two fists grabbed the Iceman's shoulders, ripping them right out of their sockets. Julian then telekinetically grabbed the fists, diverting them back towards the clone. He thrashed his arms around, commanding the fists to punch the android again and again, sending blue liquid splashing across the grass with each bone shattering punch. Santo then broke off into a run and jumped forward, hugging his knees as Julian telekinetically launched him towards the Iceman clone. The rock skinned cannonball ripped through the android's chest, sending his circuitry and cloned organs splattering onto the greenery. Julian smirked before rubbing his bleeding nose, that was how the next generation of x-men fought.

* * *

Karl's investigation took him to an area that was heavily restricted. In fact it was an area that actually had two guards watching it. The proto-prime sentinel had looked over a map of the hospital. His assessment had led him to the logical conclusion that the "miracle" implants were stored in an unmarked room. And indeed here he found two guards hiding guns under their coats. Karl looked around, seeing if there was any one else walking around. He spotted an elderly patient walking past the guards with an IV drip, as well as a doctor just leaving her office. Karl waited and waited, particularly in the case of the patient. As soon as they walked through the door Karl launched his plan. He fired two shots from his stunner, knocking the guards out. Then he rushed towards the door. It was a coded lock, but there was no time for subtlety. He tore the lock off like it was paper and walked into the storage room. The room was quite small, holding only twenty containers.

He pulled up one of the containers, grabbing an implant meant to replace a kneecap. Sitting on the floor, Karl tore the implant open and began analysing it from his own understanding of computers and robotics. It contained several chips meant to link it to another computer. Basically the cybernetics were linked to a system, a master computer responsible for the functioning of every implant. Karl took small petri dish from another container. The petri dishes contained the nanites that were apparently being used to hold back cancer cells. He walked out of the storeroom, pocketing the implant he had taken from earlier. Checking his shoulder every few seconds, Karl walked to a haematology lab. He pulled away one of the microscopes, putting the dish under the scope. Looking into the scope, Karl examined the miniature blood cell sized robots. His expertise wasn't in cell-sized machines; the technology itself was at least ten years beyond the times. But what Karl did know was that the risk in such machines interacting with brain cells was extremely dangerous if not controlled. These patients weren't just in danger but were a danger to others. Especially if Karl's theory proved to be correct.

Karl took the dish and put it in the pocket of his coat. Bringing up his communicator he established a link with his own group and the Black Bird. He wasn't surprised to see that something was jamming communications. Walking back down the hallway, Karl adjusted his collar so that people wouldn't see his face. As he walked his computer like mind formed numerous theories. Whatever these cybernetics were being used for, mutants were the intended target. There was a link between these Nanites and the Sentinel program. Hank McCoy would have a better chance at analysing the nanites and comparing them to Sentinel models. For one thing McCoy wasn't colour blind, a trait Karl still possessed from his days as a normal human. Karl suddenly stopped as he looked down the hallway. Standing at the end of the hallway was someone wearing a black uniform with a purple collar. He stood at ease, the trace of a smile running across his face.

"Hello Sentinel Unit Prototype, welcome home!"

* * *

Jean and her small group left the Black Bird and made their way back to the police station. Once there Nightcrawler snuck into one of the record rooms. Looking over her shoulder, Jean smiled as she leant across the reception desk. The young deputy left in charge was about her age with looks a mother would love in a son in law. Jean threw in a little telepathy to subtly encourage the boy's attraction.

"Hello miss, what can I do for you?" The Deputy asked.

"Hi, I was wondering whether you would know anything about an incident that happened over at the housing district a while back?" Jean asked.

"Oh that tragedy, yeah some mutant loving boy was killed, I don't know much about it but apparently the parents disappeared after," The boy explained.

"And why wasn't an investigation launched?"

"An investigation was launched but there wasn't enough evidence or a trail to follow. It was as if the couple disappeared without a trace, it was pretty freaky too cause they didn't have any other family. For a while we had used the house as a base of operations for a search within the town, but eventually we threw the case in the cold file and locked all the victims possessions in the house's basement. No one was interested in buying the house after that anyway."

Jean nodded her head, erasing the deputy's mind of the encounter while she walked around the side of the station. Soon after Kurt teleported into the bushes the group hid in. The blue furred mutant held a single file from his investigations.

"What have you got Kurt?" John asked.

"Information on Karl's father, Sebastian Redding vas a scientist specialising in Biomechanics," Kurt said.

"Biomechanics, I didn't think such an area of science existed," Sunfire said.

"He theorised ways of improving the body by…cybernetic implants," Kurt gasped, realising what he had found.

"This towns pretty much the first place to be introduced to Cameron Hodge's medical cybernetics," John pointed out.

"And you can count on it not being the last," Jean said.

"Mein Gott, such a foolish vaste of intelligence," Kurt moved his hand across his chest, drawing the shape of a cross.

"Whatever they've got planned, we need to stop it fast," Shiro slapped the palm of his hand, looking at each of his teammates.

"I'm afraid we can't allow that to happen!"

Jean and her teammates turned to where the voices had come from. She raised a telekinetic barrier, letting out a yell as several beams collided with her field. Fire emanated from Jean's body as she screamed.

* * *

Lorna landed gracefully round the back of Karl's house. She watched as Piotr ripped the lock off of the basement door. He turned to her with a smile, flexing his muscles as he changed out of his steel form. The two X-men walked down into the basement to see a whole room filled with boxes. Lorna knelt by one of the boxes, picking up a picture that lay on the top. She wiped the dust away, a look of regret crossing her face as she saw Karl standing with his parents. His face was devoid of emotions, just like his parents. Hank then jumped down into the basement, eagerly ripping open some of the boxes.

"Hmmm lets see," He mused as he searched. "Ah here we are, computers, wow Karl had a real interest in old school consoles, they look like they've been taken apart too," Hank was pretty much talking to himself, because Piotr's eyes were now on Lorna. "All right, I'll see what I can find on his drive, could you two search the other boxes, hey Pete!" Hank clicked his fingers in front of Piotr's face.

"Oh sorry comrade, yeah we'll look and see what we can find," The Russian said.

Hank nodded his head and lifted the disk drive onto his shoulder. He ran and jumped up the basement steps. As he rushed back to the jet, the slender black gloved hand of a woman slowly closed the doors. Hank got into the jet, closing the hatch behind him and using a USB cable to connect the drive to the Black Bird's computer. Beak, Sam and Jubilee both sat beside him as he booted up the computer. Numerous files and programs appeared on the screen.

"Okay lets see what we've got here, my stars and garters the kids a computer programmer," Hank smiled like a kid at a candy store. "Look at these programs, he's been using primitive eight bit technology to make his own games."

"Wow, have we got time to play?" Jubilee asked.

"Guys, he's dead, lets show a little respect," Sam said.

Inside the basement, Piotr searched some of the boxes. Alls he could find where old office supplies, posters of the earlier x-men teams and numerous books. Most of the books were dusty but Piotr was able to identify them as books on programming and history. He also saw a few biographies on activists and famous charity workers. Lorna kept her eyes focused on the family picture, sighing as she put it back on the box.

"What's wrong Lorna?" Piotr asked.

"There was so little love between them, I can't imagine people so evil as to kill their own child," Lorna sniffed, trying to hold back tears.

Piotr stood behind Lorna, moving his finger to his cheek. She accepted the gesture as he wiped away her tear.

"We should think ourselves lucky, to have had parents whom cared yes?" Piotr asked.

"Yes," Lorna whispered as she turned to face him.

Their lips touched for a moment, lingering on the edge of doubt. But then the lust took over and they locked their lips together. Lorna ran her hands across Piotr's back, moaning as his tongue dominated hers. They began unzipping one another's uniforms, with Lorna's cape falling to the ground. He picked her up, throwing away her boots and rubbing her thighs.

"We shouldn't be doing this," Lorna said.

"I know," Piotr whispered.

He crouched on the wood flooring, slowly laying Lorna onto her cape. The giant of a man traced kisses across Lorna's breasts while she removed his pants.

"No, we really shouldn't do this," Lorna's voice panicked but her eyes were different.

"I can't stop myself," Piotr shared her inner doubts.

But they both gave in, because this was what they truly wanted.

* * *

Ororo returned to the school grounds, hoping to this time question some of the teachers about Karl. Specifically she was willing to ask about whether anyone had spoken to Karl before he died. That conversation may have been the key to finding out anything else that Karl didn't remember. As Ororo walked through the corridors of the technology area she looked at the essay she had copied onto her phone. The words Karl had used not only conveyed his understanding of humanity but his view on how society should be. A part of Ororo supported that belief, while another part believed that view to be Naïve and too optimistic for the real world. She put the phone back in her pocket and looked at the fake badge Hank had given her. It was realistic to the point where it would fool the teachers.

Much to Ororo's surprise however she couldn't find anyone in the technology wing. She kept walking down the corridors until she reached the sports wing. According to the principle Karl hadn't been a sporty guy. He apparently maintained average fitness, but he apparently performed poorly in sports activities. Once again Ororo couldn't find anyone in the sports wing. She narrowed her eyes at some of the abandoned classrooms before removing her communicator. Static was the only thing that welcomed her ears.

'What's happening?' She wondered.

The white haired girl opened the two doors to the sports hall, sighing with relief. A man big and old enough to be a teacher was scoring a few points on the basketball court. He flawlessly moved across the court, jumping up and slamming the ball into the hoop. His attention was drawn to the clapping of Ororo's hands. A smile crossed his face as he looked up and down at Ororo's legs and hips.

"Hello, what can I do for you?" The Gym teacher asked.

"I'm with the FBI sir, we've renewed the murder case of Karl Redding and we were gathering more details. I know it's a lot to ask but did you know Karl Redding, and if so what could you tell us that would help?" Ororo asked.

"Oh Karl, poor kid, he was in my class before the accident," The teacher sighed.

"Accident?"

"I'm sorry, you probably got the wrong idea, I meant my accident," The teacher motioned to his legs.

The man had surgical scars of some kind running down his legs. Whatever accident he had suffered must have been horrific for his legs.

"What happened?" Ororo asked.

"A car accident, my legs got crushed and I thought I was going to spend my career teaching handicapped teams. But I got treated with cybernetics, Cameron Hodges people replaced my bones and repaired my legs with all their surgery and implants, in fact my legs are stronger than ever," The Teacher explained.

"Wow, they really are miracle workers aren't they?"

"Exactly, come into my office and I'll tell you a little about Karl!"

* * *

Karl followed the mysterious man down the corridor of the hospitals recovery ward. The uniformed man walked into the middle of the room, taking a clipboard from the desk. Karl soon entered, counting the ten beds with ten comatose patients. He ignored them, instead focusing his attention on the man.

"Who are you?" Karl demanded.

"Ah straight to business I see, there's one improvement amongst us, we don't beat around the bush. What did you learn from the X-men?" The man asked.

"I can not answer that question because I have learnt nothing," Karl said coldly.

"Well it was worth the try, you've looked at the nanites, what do you think we're going to do with them?"

Karl watched the man walked across the room. He flipped through the pages of the clipboard, reading the data at a rate faster than any normal human. When he finished, he threw the clipboard across the desk and looked to Karl, waiting for his answer.

"Judging from the words of both the Reavers and Stryker, the logical conclusion is that you would introduce the nanites globally, injecting them into multiple patients at multiple hospitals," Karl explained.

"True that is logical but the problem with that idea is that controlling such a large army would be difficult. Indeed that is part of the plan, but another part of it involves getting a computer system big enough to keep track of the Prime Sentinels on a global scale," The man had a refined way of speaking, conveying a sense of class and intelligence.

"Who are you?" Karl asked.

"My name is Bastion, I am what the Church of Humanity illogically call their saviour. Like you I was one of the first, a Prime Sentinel," Bastion's eyes released a red glow as he smirked. "The Collective realised that in order to create better Sentinel models they needed to go beyond the conventional methods of production. Computer boards and programs can only go so far, what was needed was a human mind interfacing with technology."

It came as now shock for Karl. The cold computer logic of his mind accepted the ideas. Sentinels were machines, bound by flaws in their code and design. A Sentinel only had the intelligence it was programmed with. Human minds however could absorb information. They also had something machines lacked, a sense of imagination. With a human mind behind a Sentinel, new ways of killing and tracking mutants could be created. Karl reached for his stun gun, flipping the weapon to a deadlier setting.

"I was the first in my timeline," Bastion said.

Karl paused, even his computer like brain had difficult processing what the man said. This revelation wasn't in his data banks. But Karl's human imagination couldn't even fathom or accept what the Prime Sentinel had said.

"Illogical," Karl remarked.

"Your imagining it aren't you, come now both the human and Sentinel aspects of your mind must realise something," Bastion turned to each comatose patient, counting them as he spoke "All of this, the complete eradication of cancerous cells, the replacement of lost limbs, even the morphine effect that the nanites provide could only be achieved through technology that is generations ahead of your own."

"It is impossible," Karl growled.

"Careful, you don't want your human aspect taking over, you can keep hiding behind the computer but I can tell this angers you. It's nothing to be ashamed of, human anger and hate can be quite useful. I was "born" if you will from a combination of the DNA of several anti mutant leaders including: Donald Pierce, Gregory Stark, Craydon Creed, Stephen Lang and several others. When my body was successfully clones I was modified with Nimrod Sentinel technology to become the Ultimate Prime Sentinel," Bastion explained.

"And then your creators sent you back through time in order to destroy the X-men in the past," Karl said.

"Yes, but the Collective is a lot more than just a group of anti mutant zealots, they are the embodiment of technological perfection. I am their greatest creation, because I have surpassed both humanity and technology. My power not only includes control over energy, but control over machines," Bastion clicked his fingers, turning off the monitoring devices set throughout the hospital.

Receptionists looked at their computer screens in shock as they began to display binary codes. Outside, Logan looked at his phone in confusion. The device had shut down for a moment before restarting. Rogue tugged on Logan's jacket sleeve, nodding her head towards two figures in black coats.

"My control over technology doesn't just end at primitive computers but I also have complete control over the nanites and cybernetics of Cameron Hodge, although right now until I have the control system ready my range is reduced to a few miles," Again Bastion clicked his fingers.

The patients in the room shoot out of their beds, their eyes glowing a red colour. All throughout the hospital, patients began opening their eyes. Rogue and Wolverine both stood their ground as the two men followed them revealed their glowing red eyes. At the school, Ororo accepted the gym teachers iced water, her eyes too focused on the basketball team photo to see his glowing red eyes. A woman in a black hooded coat took her hand off of the basement door. She let out a smile, imagining the naughty passion the two X-men had shared.

"Make it quick," She said.

The men accompanying her nodded their heads. They all had glowing red eyes and empty expressions. Seven of the men revealed glowing holes on their hands as they opened the basement door. Beast clicked on the files on Karl's hard drive, transferring them to a memory stick. His cautious nature proved to be worthwhile, because the jets computer screens suddenly went back. Beast looked around the jet in shock while the other X-men blinked in confusion.

"What's happening?" Jubilee asked.

Suddenly the jets engines activated. Outside, the remaining Prime Sentinels looked at the Blackbird with glowing eyes as it began its ascent.

"As you see Proto-Omega, your failure has given us the best opportunity, the chance to annihilate the X-men, mission accomplished," Bastion said.

Karl suddenly drew his gun, firing a full powered energy beam.

* * *

Back at the Xavier institute, the X-men clones continued their assault on the students. Maxwell Jordan, otherwise known as Quill ducked for cover as Noah fired a blast into the Cyclops clone. The twisted android fired its main cannon. Virgil dived at Noah, tackling him out of the way as the blast cut through the wall behind them. Quill looked outside, seeing the Jean Grey clones recovering. The savagely scarred clone lifted Monet off the ground, throwing her into Morph. Up in the sky; Jay continued to fly away from the Angel clone. He yelled in pain as the clone slashed him across the back. The clone then grabbed Jay by his neck, looking him in the eyes.

"Whose next, come on assholes, show me what you've got," Julian growled.

Julian created another telekinetic aura and fired a blast towards the Beast clone. He ripped the android's skin off, revealing his metal skeleton and circuitry. But the clone raised its hand, opening its palm to reveal a blaster.

"Bring it!"

Cessily and Kevin crawled out of their hiding place, looking to Julian as he blocked the beam. The Beast clone then turned to the Marvel Girl android, nodding its head. Taking the signal, the red haired clone put its hands to its head. Julian suddenly clutched his head, gritting his teeth together as he felt immense pain. He widened his eyes as the Beast android charged its cannon again.

"JULIAN GET OUT OF THERE!" Cessily screamed.

Julian raised his hands, fighting through the pain with everything he had. The android fired its blaster, firing two blasts straight into Julian's hands. He let out a yell of agony, throwing his arms back as the hands slowly began to disintegrate. Cessily changed to her liquid form, bursting through the window and rushing to her friend's side. Rockslide yelled in fury, jumping on the android and smashing the monster to bits. Monet turned her attention to the Jean Grey clone, punching the android across the face.

"JULIAN! JULIAN!" Cessily yelled as Julian's arms disintegrated.

He yelled in complete agony, the energy spreading from his hands towards his elbows. Cessily changed her hand into a blade, letting tears fall down her face as she contemplated the only thing she could do.

"I'm sorry Julian, I'm so sorry!" Cessily cried as she dug the blades into Julian's arm.

Tears fell down the normally arrogant boys eyes. Even with the Beast android destroyed, Santo continued to pound on its circuits. He yelled with both anger and anguish, sinking his knees into the dirt as he cried. Quill watched as this all happened, overcome with grief and guilt He had never been an honest person, in fact he and Remy were the resident class troublemakers. Now he saw Remy, throwing whatever random object he could get his hands on. From thief to hero, Remy LeBeau would become a great man. Maxwell Jordan closed his eyes and let out a small prayer.

"Your actions are worthless, you cannot run from us," The Angel clone said as he tightened his grip on Jay's neck.

Despite the pain he felt, Jay grinned. The android showed no concern as a commercial airplane flew towards them. Jay merely continued to grin; everything was going according to plan. The pilot of the said plane widened his eyes as he saw the two winged men ahead. Gathering the strength he gained through countless exercises, Jay grabbed the clone's arm with his hands and legs. Then he flapped his wings harder than he ever had before, rolling in midair. Both men collided with the window, bouncing off the side of the plane. Jay tugged at the clone's wings before kicking him in the back. The force of his kick sent the clone rolling straight towards the planes engine. Jay cringed as he caught of a glimpse of the android being cut up by the turbine.

"Kitty, you can disrupt machines by phasing into them, run for them now," Sage said, gripping Kitty's shoulders.

"I cant, I'm too scared, they have energy weapons and I don't do well with energy," Kitty explained.

"Everyone will die if you don't step up Pryde," Virgil growled.

Quill squeezed his hands into fists and looked towards Remy as he dodged another blast. Virgil created a volley of crystal blades, sending them flying into the android's back. Kitty hugged her arms as the android fired another blast from its cannon. Monet crossed her arms together as the Jean clone fired another blast from its hand.

"Here it goes," Quill whispered.

He fought the pain, protruding more and more spikes from his arms and face. Despite this immense pain he still managed to focus. Remy was being a hero so why couldn't he? He fired the quills, launching a flurry of spikes into the back of the Cyclops android. The android's circuitry sparked before its legs exploded. Quill didn't celebrate; instead he widened his eyes as the androids cannon glowed. Immediately knowing what he had to do, Quill broke off into a run. He dived towards Remy, pushing the Cajun out of the way just as the cannon fired. They fell to the floor, with Quill on top of Remy. The young man lifted his friend off of his legs, his signature grin fading.

"No!" Remy whispered.

"I'm sorry Remy, guess our honest streak got the better of me," Quill said.

"Oh god," Kitty gasped.

Though he had saved his friend, it still cost him dearly. The blast had consumed Quill's feet, leaving him with two cauterised stumps.

"You're a damn hero Max," Remy said, his eyes red with tears.

"Wow, I guess I am," Quill grinned.

Monet let out a yell of pain as the Jean clone slammed her into the floor. Cessily hugged Julian as the android raised its hands. Morph and Monet stood ready as the clone charged its blasters. Suddenly, a beam ripped straight through the robot's head. The students of the Xavier institute collectively narrowed their eyes at the figures standing behind the android's sparking form.

One of them held a smoking energy blaster. He wore gold armour of some kind, which included a chest plate, gauntlets, boots and a mask over his face. His mask had a gap where his brown hair popped out and glowing red eye lenses. Beside him stood a slim man in a red and black suit. His red mask had black circles around the white-eye lenses and he carried an assortment of weapons. On his back he had two katana style blades and pistols were strapped to his thighs. Much to the students shock one of there own was also on this team. She wore a blue uniform with a yellow belt wrapped loosely around her waist. The belt had the symbol of a red X on the buckle. Copycat's blue skin and white hair remained unchanged, but she kept on a smile she didn't have when she left the mansion. The group also had two African American men, one of whom wore casual clothes. He wore a tanned jacket and a series of rings on his fingers. Perhaps the most distinctive aspects of his clothing was the western cowboy hat he wore. Stood next to him was a man wearing a black shirt with a blue X on the chest. He also wore jeans with tears on the legs and a long black coat. His black hair was shaved while his auburn eyes changed to a red colour. Standing on his own was a man with unkempt black hair. His sleeveless red shirt revealed his metal arms.

"Well, well look what we have here, as usual the runt cant keep you people safe!"

The one leading them grinned as walked ahead of the group. Sage glared as Sabretooth grinned.

"Never fear kids, X-Force is here!"

Next Chapter: Shattered

* * *

Hope Everyone enjoyed the chapter, sorry if it isnt as bright as everyone thought it would be. With Deadpool now involved I'll try to get a little humour in, but this story is supposed to be dark. This isnt the end of the maiming and it certainly isnt the end of the dying.

Anyway I've now introduced Team X or X-Force as they call themselves in this. Included in the team are Maverick, Copycat, Deadpool, Sabretooth, Kane, John Wraith and 00virtuezero's OC Nightstalker/Kevin Ironside, credit to the creation of that character goes to him.

Next time things get worse again, while Karl engages in an explosive fight with Bastion.


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

Here we are with the longest chapter I've written for this chapter, probably the longest chapter I've ever written. But a lot is happening in this chapter. Some of you might find it upsetting, but its the build up to a big part, so enjoy:

* * *

The Dream We Share

Chapter 18: Shattered

There were two things John Wraith was proud of. 1: his Black heritage and 2: his new job. For a few years now he had done managerial work for amateur boxers in Vegas. He ran his own boxing ring and had several clients. That was his honest business, everyone knew John Wraith, the incorruptible John Wraith. So far three members of the mob had bothered him, they even went straight for his clients, pressuring them into dropping fights. But John Wraith had several things he wasn't proud of that were unfortunately useful. John was ex military; he had served for a few years in the Canadian Army, doing several war tours before moving to special ops. Specifically he had been part of Team X. The operatives of Team X were either highly skilled or in John's case they were mutants. He had the ability to teleport himself to any location within his line of sight. This made him good for stealth operations; he didn't leave any sign of his teleportation unlike some other teleporters. His military training was good for self-defence, but his real protection came from the people he knew. When a mobster came to him with a threat, alls he had to do was remind them that he had once worked for the government.

He sighed as he leant his head back into his chair. This had been the result of his hard work, his attempts to get away from his former life of violence. The man pulled the cap off of one of his beer bottles, tilting the liquid down his throat. He watched two of his clients in the ring, exchanging punches. The scene reminded him of some of the missions he used to go on. Suddenly, the image of that mission flashed before his eyes. Soldiers firing their guns at one another, explosions all around him. He sighed as he rubbed his eyes, returning to reality and the comfort of his beer. A vibration at his desk drew his attention. He had a text on his phone. John picked up the mobile and flipped it open, reading the text.

"_Its time, come to the bar we agreed upon!"_

The man let out a sigh; the price of his freedom hadn't been easy. Running away from Team X came with a condition. A condition he now had to carry out. He picked up his jacket and hat, finishing his beer before popping out of sight.

His coat was rested on the back of his stool. He impatiently tapped his sharpened nails against the bar, waiting for the others to arrive. A smirk crossed his face as he heard a familiar popping out. He turned around, smiling to reveal a pair of vampire like fangs.

"John Wraith how's the fighting business?" The man asked, opening his arms for a hug.

Wraith laughed, patting the man's back before taking a seat at the bar.

"Your looking good for a guy who should be in his mid fifties," John said.

"The benefits of a healing factor, you look good for an alcoholic."

"I'm about as alcoholic as your psychopathic," John shrugged.

"I'm not psychopathic," The man said.

"The present decorations say otherwise."

The man looked around the room, shrugging his shoulders at the carnage he had caused beforehand. Several bodies were laid out across the bar; most had bite marks on their necks. The bar keeper himself had been impaled on the antlers of the moose head he kept. John cringed as he teleported behind the counter; his friend had chocked and drowned a man with the beer hoses. Wraith shoved the body aside, taking a glass and a bottle of scotch.

"A drink Kevin?" John asked.

"Oh no thanks I just drank," Kevin said.

"Hope that drink offer still stands though."

Kevin and John looked to the bar entrance. Smiles crossed both their faces as a man in a red and black suit walked into the room. He carried a pair of swords on his back and he wore a mask that hugged his face. The masked man walked casually to the bar, taking a seat next to Kevin.

"What'll it be Wade?" Wraith asked.

"Deadpool when I'm on the job, and milk for me please," The man said.

John and Kevin looked at their mercenary friend oddly.

"I just ate a lot of rice at the all you can eat Chinese, my chest will literally explode if I consume anything fizzy!"

A clapping sound soon alerted the men. They nodded to one another, turning around with weapons ready. Standing at the doorway was a blonde haired man. He wore a orange and blue uniform with his sleeves rolled up, frameless glasses were resting at his nose while blonde hair decorated his chin. The man put his hand into his jacket, reaching for the object inside. John suddenly popped beside him, putting his desert eagle to the man's waist.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," John said.

"Your right, I'd hate to cut you with this very sharp envelope," The agent smirked as he pulled an envelope from his pocket.

John took the paper and ported back to Deadpool and Kevin. Deadpool kept his pistols aimed at the man, obviously an agent of the organisation recruiting them. While Wade watched the agent, John opened the envelope, pulling out a slip of paper. Kevin read the paper too, sharing John's surprise. Deadpool moved his head, trying to see the paper before turning back to the agent. He reached into his pocket again, grinning at Wade's suspicion. This time he pulled out a piece of cloth, wiping his glasses. Kevin took the paper John held and squeezed it into a ball.

"Is this bullshit?" He asked.

"No not at all, its what we're offering all of you. Presidential pardon, full access to forgotten records of the Weapon X project and a down payment of three cheques, each worth Four grand and that's just 25 percent of what we're offering," The agent explained.

"All that money, I'm definitely in," Deadpool said, putting his pistols away.

The agent put his glasses back on, walking towards the three men. He offered Kevin a hand to shake, shrugging as the man ignored him.

"I'm Agent Brent Jackson of Canada's Department of Post-Human affairs, the public calls us Department H."

"The guys who made Alpha and Omega Flight?" Wraith asked.

"Exactly," Jackson said, walking across the room and taking a seat.

"What does the Canadian Government want with us?" Kevin asked.

"The Presidents have put together a joint organisation dedicated to protecting our countries interests. But we need more than scientists and data collectors, we need a special team with special powers," Jackson explained, resting his head on his hands.

"So, go recruit those super heroes in Alpha Flight or some of the Avengers," Kevin said.

"We need a team a little less public, something more close to the chest."

"A black ops team, I'm out," John said as he put his pistol back in his coat pocket.

"Before you teleport back to your empty existence in that gym try thinking for a moment Mr Wraith. You can only live this life because both governments decide to leave you be. This presidential pardon guarantees you complete freedom for life, this money also gives you the chance to expand your business."

John lowered his head, looking back at Agent Jackson. The man pulled a small device out of his pocket. Activating the device, Jackson bought up a series of images that caught the recruit's eyes. He showed them weapons and equipment they would be using. A jet designed to be more advanced than the X-men's Black Bird. Then he showed them soldiers, all equipped with special battle suits and rifles designed with numerous types of ammunition. Deadpool's eyes practically lit up when he was shown a series of high tech blades, included swords and claws.

"This team isn't going to be ill prepared like the X-men, X-Force will be a military unit designed to operate with maximum efficiency and above all discipline," Jackson said as he got off his chair.

"And your now bullshitting about the deal? My services for every detail about my life before Weapon X screwed my memories up?" Kevin asked.

"Of course, we not only take care of our operatives, but reward them for their services."

Brent Jackson again offered Kevin an hand to shake. Hesitantly, the vampiric man shook the agent's hand. Weeks later the group was released on their first mission. They now stood on the grounds of the Xavier institute. Copycat, a former student of the mansion didn't seem to be bothered by the carnage that had fallen upon the team. John teleported to the side of a liquid metal woman, he looked at her black haired friend in shock. The boy's arms had been amputated and blood was flowing across the grass.

"MAVERICK WE NEED YOU HERE!" John yelled.

The gold armoured man Maverick put his pulse rifle on his back. He then ran to the wounded boy, energy building up in his hand as he continually slapped it against the ground. Using his built up kinetic energy, Maverick burnt the stumps, cauterising the wound. Deadpool's normally crazy façade was gone as he stared at the wounded students.

"Oh my god," Kevin gasped.

"I see you couldn't do your job right sweet cheeks," Sabretooth said, cupping Sage's cheek with a grin.

"What's going on here?" Monet demanded.

"Monet St. Croix, I think its time you switched schools," Sabretooth said.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your father Senator St. Croix sent a special request for you to be kept alive. But your not the only person we're here for," Kevin explained.

"Who else are you here for then?" Virgil asked.

"Magneto!"

* * *

Logan had felt pain throughout his life. The greatest pain he remembered feeling was the day he was given his Adamantium claws. That agony almost killed him, but it made the pain he felt after much easier to bear. So the feeling of his skin being burnt off was nothing in comparison to his bones themselves being coated with metal. The two Prime Sentinels fired their palm lasers, burning Logan's coat and shirt off. He roared as he popped his claws out, jumping at the Sentinels. They threw off their coats, revealing their black and purple uniforms beneath. Their eyes glowed a red colour as their skin paled. Wolverine dragged his claws against one of the men's chest. But the Sentinel seemed to possess a personal force field, protecting him from even Adamantium. His partner then grabbed Logan's head, sending electricity through the man's skull. Rogue looked to Logan in shock as his body went limp. Suddenly, Wolverine let out a yell as he swung his arms around. He cut off not just the Prime Sentinel's arm, but left a deep cut on the man/machine hybrids throat. The Prime Sentinel's head hung off the side of its neck, wires and arteries still connecting it. Rogue felt her skin pale and her stomach turn as she watched blood spurt out onto the floor. A beam suddenly shot through the roof of the hospital, attracting Rogue's attention. She watched as more beams flew out of the walls.

"Rogue take your gloves off," Wolverine ordered.

"Why?" Rogue asked.

"Touch my back and hurry," Wolverine said as he slid in front of Rogue.

She hesitantly pulled her gloves off, cringing as blood sprayed onto her shoulder. Wolverine was taking energy blasts to his body, waiting for Rogue to use her powers. As her hands touched his back, both of them let out a howl of pain. Rogue's eyes rolled into the back of her head as images and memories flashed before her eyes. Wolverine shared the experience, reliving the agony of the Weapon X experiments. Men standing over him, generals, scientists and the mysterious project director. Spikes pierced every inch of his body, penetrating his bones. Then the metallic liquid was poured into his body through the spikes.

Rogue let out a cry of agony, mirroring Logan's pain years ago. She found herself running through the trenches, tackling soldiers to the ground. An explosion threw her out of the trench and she looked at the blood and guts that stained her dirty uniform. Then she saw a machine gun firing rounds at the soldiers running across the field. The men were ripped apart by the gunfire in a sea of blood and pain. A light flashed before her and she smelt the stench of sea and the sick. She was in a boat of some kind, surrounded by soldiers. As the boat reached the beach, she was welcomed by machine gun fire from a building across the beach. Back in reality, Rogue stepped away from as voices ran through her head.

"_We can't just let you walk away!"_

"_Think for a second about what your doing, your triggering a war Howlett!"_

"_James!"_

"_We're going to make you indestructible, but first we'll have to kill you."_

"_I will Logan-San, I will marry you!"_

"_I'm not the first am I, how many others are there, do we mean anything to you?"_

"_JIMMY!"_

"_JAMES HOWLETT!"_

"ROGUE!" Logan yelled.

Rogue screamed as three pronged bone claws burst out of hands. Logan had no time to sympathise with the girl as the Prime Sentinels flew forward.

* * *

Lorna lay peacefully on Piotr's chest. They were both still naked, enjoying what little time they had. She crawled up his chest, gently kissing his lips. The Russian cupped her cheeks, kissing her mouth before tracing butterfly kisses across her neck.

"Oh Peter," Lorna moaned.

"I love you Lorna, I love you so much," Piotr said.

"I know, but I didn't want our first time to be like this, I wanted it to be special," She said as she rolled off his chest.

She grabbed her boot and began pulling it up her leg and thigh. Piotr rose from his spot, putting his boxers back on while Lorna wrapped the cloak around her body. He knelt behind her, kissing her shoulders gently. She cringed as he touched a bruise on her arm. Noticing the wound, Piotr wrapped the cloak away and examined the mark. Raw passion had overcome their mental defences. Neither one had been gentle with one another.

"I'm so sorry," Piotr whispered.

Lorna looked her lover in the eyes and pulled him into a kiss. He soothingly rubbed her arm, brushing her bangs away from her eyes. She gripped his neck, deepening the kiss. Her eyes widened as she saw that they weren't alone. Lorna immediately threw her hands forward, creating a magnetic pulse. The energy knocked several of the intruders back. Piotr turned around, going into his steel form as he stood up. Six men had walked into the basement, all wearing purple and black uniforms. The three that Lorna didn't knocked down fired their rifles, releasing surges of energy. Piotr braced himself, and grinned as the energy had no affect on him. But a cry behind him changed his mood.

"LORNA!" Colossus yelled.

The green haired girl was now laid out across the floor, electricity sparking on her body. Colossus turned to the intruders, the Prime Sentinels. He let out a roar of fury as he stampeded forward. The house itself shook as he charged, punching one of the men so hard that he crashed through the ceiling. Colossus swung his fists around, punching another Prime Sentinel. Two of them grabbed his arms and activated their rocket boots. They flew upwards, crashing through the ceiling and into Karl's house. Piotr struggled under their grip, thrashing his arms around. His protests knocked the flyers off balance and the three of them crashed around the house. Colossus grabbed one of the Sentinel's by their head, throwing them through a wall. The whole world was a daze as he lost himself to his anger.

"I'LL KILL YOU ALL!" He yelled.

They hurt the one he loved, and for that he would show now mercy. Colossus slammed his feet into the ground, digging himself into the floorboards. He yelled as he gathered all his strength, tearing the arms off of the other Prime Sentinel. Blood and oil sprayed onto his chest and cheeks. That didn't matter; he was ready to cover himself in blood if it meant avenging Lorna. Suddenly, two beams slammed into his back. Then another Prime Sentinel burst through the floor, punching Piotr in the chin.

"Targets found, Polaris is disabled, launching assault Colossus," One of the Prime Sentinels said.

He left Lorna unconscious, joining his allies as they assaulted Colossus. Even with the house shaking the woman in black walked down to the basement. She looked down at Lorna, a smirk crossing her black-coated lips. Darkness replaced the floor boards as the woman in black grabbed Lorna's chin.

"Peter," Lorna whispered.

"Shhh my pet, your about to become part of something so much better," The Woman in black said as they disappeared.

* * *

Outside, Prime Sentinels stood as still as statues. Their digital forms were controlling the Black Bird, taking it away from the coast. Even with Hank practically wrestling with the controls, the jet continued to fly away from America.

"Hank what's going on?" Bobby asked.

"Someone's taken control," Beast said.

"What about hot wiring it?" Jubilee asked.

"This isn't a car," Beak said.

"No she's right," Hank said as he ripped off a panel at the piloting seat.

He began ripping at the wires, reconnecting them together in an effort to take back control. Alison stirred in her sleep, waking up to see the carnage. Beak looked at the radar, widening his eyes as he saw where they were going.

"Guys we've got to get off this thing right away," Beak said.

"Why?" Jubilee asked.

"They're piloting the jet on a direct course to the savage land, if we reach the Savage Land we wont be able to contact the outside world," Sam explained, noticing the coordinates.

"Sam you grab Ali and Rahne, Barnell take Jubilee," Iceman said.

He fired an ice blast at the door, changing his own skin to its ice form. Hank stepped away from the piloting console while Rahne, Ali and Jubilee wrapped their arms around the flyers. Iceman began to count down with his fingers as Sam and Beak braced themselves. The door suddenly shattered and both Cannonball and Beak rushed out of the jet. Beak spread his wings, with Jubilee holding onto his neck tight. It was an action Dazzler and Rahne shared as Sam ignited the blast effect on his legs. They flew away from the jet, with Ali looking behind her. She bit her lip as Hank and Bobby jumped off of the plane.

"Tell me you have a plan," Hank said.

Bobby smirked before firing another ice blast. The beam shaped itself as Bobby moved his arms around in a circle. He continued to use his power as he and Bobby slipped down the ice slide he created. With precise timing and a skill he had built up from years of practice, Bobby created an ice ramp, sliding across the ocean with Hank behind him. He laughed as the blue furred X-man sat on his arse, screaming in a mix of shock and delight as he slid.

"ROBERT DRAKE YOU ARE THE LUCKIEST IDIOT ALIVE!" Hank yelled.

"See Cyclops pull of something like that, that is why I'm the coolest of the X-men," Bobby smiled.

* * *

His vision was blurry and his hearing distorted. As he slowly recovered he spotted two of his downed teammates. Sunfire and Thunderbird both woke up just as slowly as Nightcrawler had. Kurt shook his head, regaining his bearings and looking at the carnage around them. Much to his shock whatever had attacked them was now broken apart. What was strange was that the whole ground looked as if an inferno had engulfed it. Even the police station was gone; the charred remains of its staff were all that was left.

"What happened?" Shiro asked.

"Jean," Kurt said.

He looked around; there wasn't a single trace of Jean anywhere. But Kurt's suspicions proved to be wrong. John knelt on the floor, holding what was left of Jean's uniform.

"Did she…"

"I don't know Yoshida," John growled.

"You're the tracker, is she dead or not?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" John yelled.

"Stay calm Proudstar, this isn't the time to be panicking," Shiro said.

"Jean could be dead and we haven't heard from the others, for all we know they could be dead too, we cant all be selfish pricks like you."

"HOW DARE YOU!" Shiro yelled.

"ENOUGH!"

Kurt punched both men across the face, shocking them with his strength.

"We have to get out of this town and try to regroup elsewhere," He explained.

"I refuse to turn by back to an enemy," Shiro said.

"Now isn't the time for pride, we have to keep each other safe and survive until we find a way to contact the others. Right now we've lost contact with the others and the mansion, so our first priority is to get back to the Institute. Ororo is at the school, you two should go there while I get to the hospital."

"Your right, Shiro lets go, Kurt can cover a lot more ground than we can," John said.

Shiro hesitantly nodded his head. He surrounded himself with an aura of fire, hovering off the ground. John pulled his shirt off, brandishing his knife and taking a final look at Kurt. They nodded their heads to one another. It was their way of wishing each other good luck. Kurt cupped his hands together, bowing his head and closing his eyes.

"Our father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven…Please my lord, give no blessing to me, reserves those blessings for my friends and my enemies equally, let my friends know protection and give my enemies redemption…amen!"

The X-man disappeared in a flash of purple smoke and brimstone.

* * *

The situation at the Xavier Institute had yet to change. X-Force helicopters were landing, setting up a camp while soldiers began searching the school grounds. Hellion and Quill were put on Stretchers, while Wanda and Pietro were both cuffed. Power dampening collars were put on their necks and Sabretooth forced them to their knees.

"Creed you bastard, what are you doing here?" Pietro asked.

"Haven't you heard? I'm an official agent of the government now," Sabretooth said.

"No, but why?" Wanda asked.

Kevin Ironside looked at Victor Creed with a glare. He too wondered why the man was given a pardon. Maverick was a soldier through and through, but he was also a father. He felt for the Xavier institute kids, making sure they were given blankets and counselling. Right now the children were sitting in a tent, with medics assessing their injuries and reassuring them. Virgil got up off his seat and pulled his blanket off. He walked out of the tent and looked at Sage as she spoke with several soldiers.

"Magneto should be in the surrounding area, two more students will be with him, make sure they aren't harmed," She spoke not like a teacher but a superior officer.

That's when it hit Virgil.

"You bitch," he snarled.

Sage turned to face Virgil, her face remaining cold as he glared.

"You work for these people don't you? While we were fighting Emma Frost you were telling X-force to come here," Virgil explained.

The other Xavier students looked out of the cabin, watching as Virgil confronted Sage. An injured Warren was guided out of the remains of the mansion, while Scott was carried on a stretcher. A helicopter landed at the site, Agent Jackson smoothly stepped off. He smiled as he watched the confrontation with Sage and Virgil.

"Explain to us Sage, tell us why this X-Force is here? I'm only asking what the others are thinking, why are maniacs like Sabretooth and Deadpool helping us, what's the governments gain in all this?" Virgil asked.

"There is no gain, they're just doing a far better job than Xavier," Copycat said.

The blue skinned girl walked into the conversation, holding a cup of coffee. Deadpool put a hand to his sword as Virgil's stance changed to hostility. Kevin grabbed his friends arm, shaking his head. This wasn't their fight.

"Admit it Virgil, you've lost faith in Xavier's ability to protect us," Copycat said.

"We're never protected, mutants are human but we aren't like other kids…other kids get to go to a normal school where the worst that could happen is a class mate sneaking in with a gun. Mutants are targets Vanessa, we cant protection or happiness together," Virgil explained.

"My boyfriend died Wallace, he died and Xavier gave the Sentinel who killed him a job."

The students muttered amongst themselves. They were shocked and confused by Copycat's statement. She smiled as she addressed the students:

"Didn't you know? The Sentinel that attacked us a week ago was a Bio-Sentinel of some kind. Xavier freed him from his programming and turned him into Forge's assistant."

Monet grit her teeth together, the man who killed her boyfriend had been staying in the mansion all along. The others were more conflicted than angry. Especially Sofia and David, they had interacted with Karl. At the time they admitted that they found his company quite pleasant. But for him to be a murderer, they couldn't believe it.

"He gave someone a second chance," Morph said.

"You knew?" Kevin asked.

"Yes, I believed in Xavier and his decision, Karl is only trying to redeem himself. Virgil's right, no matter how hard Xavier tries the reality is that we are mutants. There will always be people who refuse to accept our existence. It doesn't matter where it's the government or Xavier, we have to take care of one another too," Morph explained.

"Wait why did Vanessa call Virgil Wallace?" Noah asked.

"Because he's the son of Heinrich Wallace, a leading scientist in the study of the mutant condition," Jackson said as he walked forward.

Virgil narrowed his eyes at Jackson and Sage as they stood side by side.

"Agent Tessa has been forwarding reports to the Director for several years. She's worked for us ever since she first joined the institute. You attending the school was a matter the director found quite interesting, I can understand why you kept your name secret. After all his father was infamous as the man who tried to prove that mutants weren't the next step in evolution, he was killed for it wasn't he?" Jackson asked.

Virgil immediately punched Jackson across the face. Deadpool and Kevin both clutched their chests, laughing as the agent roamed across the ground, searching for his knocked off glasses. Sage suddenly tripped Virgil to the floor, pressing her hand against his head. She sent a telepathic wave through his mind, immobilising his limps.

"Old Remy think we should get out of here quick," Gambit said.

"They're trying to help us," David said.

Another group of medics walked into the room, holding syringes.

"Please don't be alarmed, we're just going to run a few blood tests to see if those Sentinel clones generated any harmful radiation," The scientist said.

The students showed no resistance as they let the scientists take their blood samples. Warren was put on a chair, with two guards watching him. A guilty expression crossed his face as he looked at the students. He knew about Karl and he knew that the students would place blame on his shoulders with Scott comatose. Agent Jackson recovered his glasses and walked over to the guards watching Cyclops.

"Put the mask on him," He ordered.

"Yes sir!"

John ported to Jackson's side, watching as the soldiers put a strange mask over Scott's eyes. It was silver in colour and wrapped around Scott's head. The Ruby Quarts eye lenses would contain his optic blasts, while the overall shape of the mask gave him an aggressive look. Jackson looked at Emma Frost as she was guided out of the mansion.

"Charges are set sir, and the targets have been found," One of the soldiers said.

"Charges? What's that mean?" John asked.

Kevin walked to the science lab, dipping his finger into the dishes with the student blood samples. He sucked his finger, licking each drop of blood that had been taken. An aspect of his powers involved drinking blood to gain strength. In the case of mutants he could temporarily gain their powers. He felt the electricity or Surge and the strength of M coursing through his body. Sofia ran out of the tent as several soldiers approached the camp. Laurie pushed the soldier dragging her and shared a hug with Sofia. Xavier, Magneto and Josh were both being carried on stretchers. The healer was worn out from his efforts in saving his teacher and his greatest enemy. Both Magneto and Xavier were stabilised, their fatal wounds had been healed. Agent Jackson leant towards Magneto, looking the man in the eyes.

"On behalf of the joint American and Canadian defence force, I'm placing you under arrest for terrorism, and you Xavier, your under arrest for harbouring a fugitive," Jackson smirked as he turned to his soldiers. "Blow the charges!"

Kevin and John both turned in shock as the remains of the mansion were blown apart. The students themselves ran out of the tent, watching as their home was completely destroyed.

"Xavier's school for gifted youngsters is now officially over, his dream is over, you are all going to be sent home," Sage said as she turned to the students.

"Wait a sec, some of these kids don't have homes to go to, what happens to them?" Kevin asked.

"That is none of your concern Ironside!"

"Oh my god, what are we going to do now?" Noriko asked.

"We stick together and survive for as long as we can," Jay said.

"Easier said than done," Santo muttered.

"They're right, we need to hold out until Xavier thinks of something," Cessily said.

Sabretooth laughed while Copycat huffed. They both knew that Xavier wouldn't be doing a lot of thinking in a prison cell. Agent Jackson typed a number into his phone, contacting his superior.

"We've secured the targets, we're ready to receive teams to dig up the Cerebro Chamber," He said.

Kevin took a seat beside Maverick, both of them thinking of the children. They saw the expressions of the students. It was one thing to destroy their home, but to arrest their teacher and declare his dream over. That was the end of hope, something neither man would wish upon another. Kevin slammed his fist against a tent support pipe. He couldn't stand it when kids were upset.

"What are we going to do Sofia?" Laurie asked with tears in her eyes.

"I don't know, I really don't know," Sofia cried with her friend.

Emma Frost noticed the expressions of the students. She knew that she was partly to blame, she may not have worked with X-Force but she kept Cyclops from recovering. The students needed someone to restore their hope.

* * *

His shots had been on target, but Bastion proved to be the superior model. Karl fired his beam gun, killing the Prime Sentinel hosts before they could complete their transformation. It was cold logic; kill the patients before they became a threat. Karl's shooting had been accurate, even when he missed Bastion he would hit a patient infected by the Hodge Nanites. Bastion hovered across the ground; firing energy blasts from his hand. Karl ducked beneath the beams, firing back with his gun. The two sentinels crashed through walls, firing shots that killed the people around them. A part of Karl wanted to stop, more than anything he wanted to stop. But the robotic part took over, attacking Bastion without mercy. A beam pierced through Bastion's chest, causing the man to widen his eyes in shock.

"Target locked, destroy!" Karl said as he pulled the trigger.

His second shot slammed into Bastion's head, cutting a hole straight through his eye. Then he fired a series of beams, striking each part of Bastion's body. The parts of the Prime Sentinel scattered to the floor as Karl lowered his weapon. Suddenly, the parts began glowing a pink colour as they levitated off the ground. Karl raised his gun as the parts joined back together. Bastion smirked as the beams Karl fired now deflected off his force field. Glowing cracks ran along Bastion's face as he raised his hand. Karl crossed his arms together, using his armour to shield himself from the blast Bastion fired. The force of the attack threw Karl through the wall, sending him rolling onto the road. An ambulance screeched to a halt, stopping inches from Karl's head.

"There are several ways to dispose of a threat as active as the X-men," Bastion said as he floated out of the hospital.

He squeezed his hand around the ambulance, magnetically squashing it into a ball. Then he slammed the remains into Karl, throwing him to the side. Bastion raised both his hands, targeting Wolverine as he engaged the Prime Sentinels. The blast he fired melted Wolverine's face, revealing his Adamantium skull. Logan fell to his knees, focusing on regenerating his body. Rogue suddenly recovered from her trance, slashing one of the Prime Sentinel's across the face. She flipped back, avoiding a second blast from Bastion.

"In order to completely destroy a threat like the X-men, you must strike them where they are vulnerable. That is why humans are so inferior to machines, they are held back by the illogical feeling of love," Bastion explained as he hit Wolverine with a second blast.

"LOGAN!" Rogue yelled.

Wolverine roared, rushing towards Bastion. He dived forward, stabbing Bastion in the head. Suddenly, electricity surged through Logan's body. He yelled out in pain as Bastion grabbed his neck, electrocuting him. Rogue stabbed Bastion's arm, causing him to drop Logan.

"You wont touch him again," Rogue growled.

Karl fired his beam pistol, hitting Bastion in the shoulder. Rogue then swung her leg round, kicking Bastion across the face. She landed on the ground, helping Logan up and looking him in the eye.

"As I said, love makes us weak," Bastion said.

"It is not love," Karl said.

"You are wrong Proto-Omega, the feeling that guides the X-men is love, love for one another. They are "friends", "comrades" and it is love that pushes them to sacrifice for one another. That feeling is what we will use against them!"

Colossus pounded a Prime Sentinel into the ground. He yelled, attracting the attention of not just the Sentinels, but also the people who lived in the area. They didn't run, they instead watch this man. Tears were in his eyes as he continued to battle against these overwhelming odds. Launching his fists forward, Colossus shattered the heads of his enemies. Beam rebounded off of his armour and even the ones that hurt him couldn't stop him. He walked forward as four Prime Sentinels ganged up on him, striking him with full power beams.

* * *

"So what exactly do you know about Karl?" Ororo asked the gym teacher, unaware of his secret.

The gym teacher, in actuality a Prime Sentinel opened the palm of his hand. He prepared to fire a blast while Shiro and John ran as fast as they could through the school corridors. They stopped as they heard a crashing sound, a body was sent crashing through the wall. John and Shiro both looked at the body in shock as it leaked a mixture of blood and oil.

"A Bio-Sentinel, just like Karl!" Storm said as she hovered through the hole in the wall.

Shiro and John both rubbed their heads as they grinned. So much for coming to Storm's rescue. Ororo knelt by the side of the body, looking at its armour and skin.

"So much hate, we have to leave as soon as possible."

John and Shiro both nodded their heads. They rushed out of the school, widening their eyes as they saw the beams flying into the sky. Karl fired his beam cannon like a mad man, trying to hit Bastion in midair.

"Your X-men are so dependant on one another, so we will first divide and conquer," Bastion said as he dodged another beam.

"They will always reassemble," Karl said.

"But will they be the same? If their hope is destroyed then they will never recover. Destroy their dreams and their hope and the X-men will be unable to rebuild, my plan is to shatter their hope itself!"

Bastion fired a beam from his palm, breaking Karl's gun apart. He then swooped downwards, grabbing Karl by his neck and punching his mask so hard that it shattered. Karl rolled across the floor, looking up at Bastion with his colour-blind eyes. The Prime Sentinel gathered energy into his hands, firing a blast straight towards Karl. But Karl quickly rolled out of the way, dodging the blast. Wolverine took a running start and jumped off of a bench. He swung his claws at Bastion, who fired a blast that knocked him aside.

* * *

Virgil got up off the floor, rubbing his head as he recovered from Sage's psychic attack. He looked to the students; well over half of them were looking over at the remains of the mansion. The X-men had lost contact, Forge had disappeared and Mr Cassidy was on Muir Island. They felt abandoned, not just by the X-men but by their teacher as well. Xavier was on a stretcher, a device on his head blocking his telepathy. He kept his eyes on Eric, who was wrapped in a straight jacket with a control collar around his neck.

"It seems it's over Charles," Eric said.

"No, it isn't over yet," Charles whispered.

"What plan to do you have waiting to come out?"

"No plan, just hope!"

"Hope, that sounds good, if only I had kept my Brotherhood around, we would at least have a chance of escape," Eric explained.

Charles smiled as he nodded his head, reinforcements would have been good right now. Agent Jackson kept on coordinating his men via radio, until a soldier came to him with another radio.

"We've locked onto their signal sir," The soldier said.

Jackson nodded his head, grabbing the radio and thinking of what he would say. He casually stood in place while the mutants around him panicked. Blue and purple armoured Sentinels began landing on the school grounds. The machines looked over the students, their red eyes glaring.

"Sentinels what the hell is going on here?" Kevin asked.

"Sentinels built by Shaw industries to help us," Copycat said.

"Shaw, as in Sebastian Shaw?" Emma asked.

"Get that prisoner in a containment cell," Maverick ordered.

"Wait, what have you got to say lady?" Kevin asked.

"I…"Emma stopped as she lowered her head.

She came to a sudden realisation. A question ran through her head repeatedly. How could I be so foolish? The people she worked for the Hellfire Club had given her an objective. But they didn't tell her of their deeper plan, their involvement with this X-Force. She looked to the unconscious Scott Summers, a man she had tried and failed to seduce. While in his mind she had seen what he fought for and how hard the X-men had fought for years. They didn't stop no matter what hit them, but it was hard to imagine them surviving this. Brent Jackson put the radio to his mouth, finally knowing what he could say.

"Attention all X-men!"

Even the X-men that were fighting took their time to listen to the message. Karl grappled with Bastion, the superior sentinel throwing him through the wall of the hospital. Rogue ducked for cover as Bastion fired another blast. She listened to the message intensively while Logan growled, annoyed by the agent's voice. The group flying back towards the coast widened their eyes at what Jackson said next.

"From this moment on the control of mutants has fallen under the jurisdiction of X-Force. I repeat that the X-men have been officially disbanded!"

"YOU'VE GOT TO BE FUCKING JOKING!" Logan yelled.

An amused smirk crossed Bastion's face before he blasted Wolverine into the wall. The students watched as Jackson continued to make his demands.

"All members of the X-men are to report to the nearest Department H office for debriefing and reassignment. Professor Charles Xavier has been harbouring the fugitive terrorist Magneto and is thus under arrest for both this, his criminal neglect of the students under his care and concealing a prototype Bio-Sentinel from the government."

Nicholas Fury huffed, listening in on the speech with his own equipment. Virgil grit his teeth together in anger, this was exactly what he wanted to avoid. The other X-students were overcome by the stress of all these revelations. John lowered his head, closing his eyes while Kevin looked at him.

"Did you know this would happen?" Kevin asked.

"Yeah, just let it go Kevin all right," John said as he lowered his hat over his eyes.

"I repeat that message again, all former X-men are to report to the offices of Department H, the dream of Xavier is over, you are now under our authority!"

Jackson smiled smugly, an action Sabretooth and Copycat shared.

"No don't give up yet," Emma said.

"Quiet," The guard holding her growled.

Emma swung her head back, striking the Guard's head. She immediately rushed towards Scott, changing into her flesh form. Blood oozed from the wound Noah had given her. But she ignored that pain and accessed her telepathy.

"**Don't give up Scott!"**

Scott gasped as he woke up. He rolled off his stretcher, his eyes glowing as he looked to Jackson with a glare. His expression softened as he looked to Emma. The woman let out a smile as she changed to her diamond form.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry for what I've done," She said.

"Too little too late I'm afraid!"

The students widened their eyes as Sabretooth slashed the back of Emma's head. Like a statue her diamond form fell apart, shattering as it hit the ground. Scott looked at what was left of the White Queen before looking to the feral madman who killed her.

"YOU BASTARD!" Scott yelled.

His eyes shined brightly as he used his powers. The mask suddenly slid open and Cyclops unleashed an optic blast straight into Sabretooth's face.

"AAAAGH! BASTARD MY EYES!" Creed screamed as he rolled across the floor.

"Everyone don't give up yet, we need to keep the dream alive," Scott said.

Wires suddenly struck Scott's chest and he let out a cry of pain. Electricity ran through his body while the soldiers tackled him to the ground.

"Don't you see, we lose contact with the X-men and these guys miraculously re-establish contact, THEY'RE THE ONES BEHIND THIS!" Scott yelled.

"Poor guy, he's gone insane from denial," Jackson said.

But Kevin and Wade both noticed the smirk across the man's face. This had all been a apart of the governments plan.

"Don't give up!"

Jackson widened his eyes, unsure of how to react to the voice that spoke back. The students recognised the thick accented voice as the friendliest student at the mansion. But he was now an X-men; ready to fight for the dream.

"Who is this?" Jackson asked.

"Kurt Vagner, but to the X-men and the Munich Circus I am known as the incredible Nightcrawler."

The students smiled while Jackson looked at the radio in shock. Kurt teleported behind Bastion, kicking the man across the head. He then flipped in midair, dodging one of the Sentinel's blasts.

"Everyone, don't give up, have faith in each other and keep believing in the hope of Xavier's dream. Hope is coming, just keep the faith!"

"ALLEJUHAH!" Morph yelled, appearing as a pale priest.

Morph's form suddenly returned to normal as Santo smacked him across the head. Kurt teleported like he never had before, dodging shot after shot from the Prime Sentinel.

"Sorry Agent Jackson but this is a dream we can't give up on yet," Kurt began.

He flipped backwards, dodging another beam and giving Karl the opening he needed. Karl rushed towards Bastion, punching the machine across the face. Crawling across the floor, Kurt then broke off into a run, leaping over benches and bins. He jumped and teleported, reappearing over Karl's head. Wrapping his tail around Karl's wrist, Kurt teleported again. They appeared over Bastion, catching him completely off guard. Karl swung his fist into Bastion, cracking the man's head. Then he swung Kurt around, just as the X-man cupped his hands together. Nightcrawler dealt a powerful blow to Bastion's head, furthering damaging his circuitry.

"The dream is worth dying for Jackson," Kurt said.

"And why is that exactly?" Jackson asked.

"Are you joking? To die for a world where everyone can understand one another why would that not be worth dying for? I am a man of faith Jackson, despite my appearance I turned to god, to the power of hope and not hatred!"

Scott crouched on the ground, grabbing a piece of Emma's diamond form. He narrowed his eyes at the crystal, pressing it to his chest as he closed his eyes.

'Thank you Emma' He thought.

Jean always told him that it was the thoughts that counted. Kurt still kept his tail wrapped around Karl's wrist as he teleported again. The duo resumed their assault on Bastion, Karl weakened Bastion's armour so that Kurt could punch the creature as hard as he could.

"Everyone you know me, you know what I look like, that appearance drove my own mother to throw me off a waterfall, but a miracle saved me while love turned me into the man I am today. Not just my adopted parents but Xavier as well, people outside of the circus hated me, they even called me a devil. Right now I still bare the scars and burns of lynch mobs, but the Professor saved me. He gave me a home, where I met all of you, without Xavier's dream we would never have met, and I would never have had the chance to fight for what I believe in. At this moment the X-men are enduring attacks from all sides, hate beyond what we thought could be felt."

Karl grabbed Bastion by his head and slammed him against the wall. Kurt and Karl teleported back as Logan rushed towards Bastion, eagerly scraping his claws together. Suddenly, Bastion unleashed a blast from his whole body, burning Logan's skin to the point where it revealed his metal skeleton.

"LOGAN!" Rogue yelled.

Bastion then swung his arm around, firing a blast into Kurt's back. The force of the blast threw Kurt back, sending him rolling across the floor. Karl stood his ground, but Bastion suddenly appeared before him. The superior sentinel grabbed Karl by his neck, lifting him off the ground before throwing him into a wall. Bastion's eyes glowed as he walked towards Karl. Rogue rushed to Logan's side, cringing, as she smelt his burnt flesh. He struggled to get up off the floor, looking to Karl. His body was sparking while cracks ran across his head. Kurt coughed, spitting blood onto the floor as he got up.

"Where are X-Force now? Where are they when people around us are dying? If you can hear me everyone know this, at this moment, at this point where these men target us and demand our destruction we have all become something capable of defending not just ourselves, but every other mutant on the planet. We and all of you are now…X-men!"

Bastion stopped as he detected the signature for a teleporter. He had already been fooled once by this trick, it wouldn't fool him again. The X-students smiled as they heard Kurt's words, they never doubted that he was saving a life. Karl widened his eyes as he watched Bastion stick his arm out, just as a cloud of purple smoke appeared between them. Rogue and Logan looked towards the three men and Rogue felt tears sting her eyes.

"KURT!" Logan yelled.

The students, all of them declared X-men perked when they heard Logan's yell. All the X-men on the field and out on the frontline waited for some kind of response. Karl eyes remained fixed on his would be saviour, the young man whom resembled a devil. Physically he went against everything his parents hated, but in truth it surpassed their views of an angel completely. Kurt gasped, blood gushing from his mouth as he looked down at his chest. For a moment he considered laughing, ironically it was a mistake he had been trained not to make. He felt himself weaken, his vision blurring as he slowly reached for Karl's shoulder. His other hand grabbed the cross in his pocket as he spoke his final prayer.

"Lord…in this…our time of need…give me strength!"

His eyes narrowed as determination took over. Purple smoke consumed the space he once occupied as he carried himself and Karl further than he had ever gone. Kevin and Sabretooth's ears twitched as they heard a "bamf" sound a short distance from the camp. Karl grabbed Kurt as he fell, hugging the man who saved him. He shuffled to his knees, laying Kurt out as he desperately thought of a method to save him. But the only thing his cold computer coded brain could think was one response:

"_He is dead!" _The logic stated.

Kurt's breathing was weakening with every second that passed. There was nothing that could be done. He had made the mistake of reappearing around Bastion's arm. The robotic hand was now fused to his chest.

"There is nothing I can do," Karl said coldly.

"It doesn't matter…don't give up either Karl…you are human, like me, like them….you're the key to all of this…you're the only hope we have of beating them…"

"No your wrong, I don't know anything about their plans or how to stop it, I cant even shed tears for you," Karl explained.

"I…believe…in you!"

Kurt's eyes drifted shut as he lowered his hands. Karl still held Kurt's body as his mind clashed over the reaction he should show. One part demanded cold logic, while another fought for the ideal of humanity.

_"The mutant is dead, we are above sorrow, to mourn for him will be to waste time we do not have!"_

In the depths of his mind Karl looked at himself in the mirror. On the other side of the mirror he appeared as he once was, while looking into the mirror he saw the Sentinel he was turned into. Karl's expression remained one of anger as he confronted himself.

"He deserves it, he deserves to have tears shed for him!"

The Sentinel coldly looked back, staring into Karl's eyes, his eyes.

_"We are incapable of tears, desire is irrelevant, we are a machine. Kurt Wagner was wrong we are no longer human."_

Karl turned around, looking away from what he had become. But the image of the Sentinel oozed out of the wall, staring at him.

_"Desire is irrelevant, respect is irrelevant, we are machines and thus we must serve the purpose we are given!"_

"I'm sick," Karl whispered.

"_We are incapable of becoming ill, incapable of laughter, we are no longer human!"_

"I'm sick and tired of YOU!" Karl yelled.

The Sentinel pulled its head back, looking at Karl with confusion.

"You think you can just make me forget about regret and sorrow, damn it those are the things that make us human. If you destroy those you destroy humanity, you destroy the very things worth holding onto. I don't want to be a machine; I don't want to admit that I may no longer be human. If I do that it'll be an insult to **him**, I wont forget it. I don't want to hear from you again, I don't want to hear your cold and twisted logic."

"_You would shed tears for someone you were created to kill?"_

"I wasn't created, I was born from hatred and ignorance. But faith and friendship saved me, if only…if only I had known him earlier. He saved…he saved my soul!"

In reality, water struck the grass. Karl rocked back and forth, hugging Kurt's body possessively. He no longer heard the logic; alls he felt was the sorrow, not just for this boy but also for everyone else who had died. Before he tried so desperately to cry, now he could. He raised his head and looked to the sky, water leaking from his eyes. His scream echoed through the campus of the Xavier institute.

Next Chapter 19: Devils

* * *

Despite all the loss they have suffered, next time the X-men fight back. But wait, why is the next chapter called Devil's? read and find out.

Also I've given Cyclops the Basilisk mask from Age of X, the new style wont last long but am I the only one who thinks the Basilisk mask is cool?


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: i dont own X-men 

* * *

The Dream We Share

Chapter 19: Devils

In all the years he had been alive, Karl had never yelled as loudly as he had before. He had never cried as much as he did at this moment. This was a moment that defined him as a human being. Kurt Wagner was the classis example of inner humanity. Outwardly he looked like a devil, but inside he represented the kind of thoughts and feelings all humans should have. Still gripping the X-man's body, Karl bowed his head in respect, water dripping onto Kurt's face. Despite the pain of his death, he had still afforded a smile at the end. Karl looked up as he heard footsteps and he immediately identified them as soldiers. The boots were a dead giveaway and the guns strapped to their harnesses merely confirmed Karl's suspicions. Though he had recovered his sense of humanity he still relied on his computer based mind. But this time it was mixed with human imagination and ingenuity. He knew that the military, or some kind of private military had occupied the institute grounds and destroyed the mansion itself.

"Put your hands up and step away from the body," One of the soldiers ordered.

"Jesus, what the hell is he?" The other soldier asked.

"He's human!" Karl growled.

"You stay back freak, whatever the hell you are too we're taking you to the other freaks in the tent."

Karl put his hands on his head, looking over at Kurt's body. The bastards showed no respect as they dragged the X-man across the grass. Karl followed, keeping his eyes on the barrel of one of the soldier's guns. They kept a close eye on him while also making their way over to the tent. Karl looked towards the students they were all huddled together. Xavier raised his head as he looked towards Karl. His eyes suddenly looked at Kurt's broken form.

"KURT!" Xavier yelled.

The students looked to Karl and Kurt in shock while Xavier fell out of his cot. He crawled across the floor, trying to make his way to the tent's exit. But several soldiers lifted him off the ground, slamming him against the table.

"Oh god," Kitty whispered.

Every student of the Xavier institute broke off into a run. It didn't matter how well they knew Kurt, one of their own was gone. Even Remy rushed out of Max's tent to see what had happened to his fellow student.

"FUCK OFF FACISTS!" Morph yelled as he pushed the two soldiers out of the way.

"What happened?" Kitty asked, falling to her knees as she reached Kurt's body.

Scott and Warren stood still, looking through the crowd of students at Kurt's still form. Warren lowered his head while Scott squeezed his hands into fists, his eyes glowing furiously. The two-team mates nodded to one another before they walked towards Karl. He took his hands off his head, looking at Warren and Scott. They saw the guilt in his eyes and reserved their judgement for a later date. Instead they turned to look at Kurt as Kitty cradled him. David wrapped his around Noriko while Morph slammed his hands against the dirt. In his anger he changed to his natural pale white form, tears falling from his eyes.

"Damn it," The shape shifter said.

Kevin Ironside solemnly looked at the gathered students. They were a family; it wasn't a belief but simple fact. One of their own had died and they were taking time off from a crisis to mourn them. He looked away; he couldn't stand the sight of children crying. Instead Kevin focused his attention on Brent Jackson, the cocky bastard who supposedly in charge of his mission.

"Agent Jackson," Kevin used the name simply to get the man's attention.

As soon as Jackson turned around, a fist met his face. Again his glasses fell to the floor and he crawled around searching for them. When he finally he found them, he quickly pointed his gun at Kevin.

"Explain yourself Ironside," Jackson demanded.

"You know where they are, you could have sent reinforcements to help them but instead you threaten them. We're supposed to be here to help but right now we're doing the opposite. This task force isn't to replace the X-men; it's to kill them isn't it? Well I'm done with this," Kevin explained.

He put his hand down his shirt, ripping off a pair of dog tags and throwing them at Jackson's feet. Maverick put a hand to his pulse rifle while Deadpool gripped his swords. All of the other soldiers began arming themselves as students looked at them. Scott stepped in front of the students, standing as the X-men's leader.

'Monet, display my thoughts to everyone's consciousness' Scott thought.

"**Take it away Scott," **Monet said, with the use of her telepathy.

"**Everyone…these people have brought Sentinel's onto our front garden. They've destroyed our home, threatened us, disrespected our dead and worst of all they've deceived us. X-Force isn't here to help; they're here to control us, why do you think they've taken samples of our blood. When I give the order scatter into teams and go your separate ways, we'll meet up in Salem's Centre when we've lost them," **Scott explained through a link with his friends.

"**Sorry I can't go with you guys, me and Julian aren't exactly in the condition to be running around," **Maxwell also spoke through the link.

"Remember what Kurt said; you are all X-men now, it doesn't matter whether you want it or not. Sometimes we have to rise up and take a stand for what we know is right," Karl said.

Laurie dried her eyes while Sofia spread her arms out, the wind throwing her hair around. Santo cracked his knuckles together as Noriko adjusted her gauntlets. Kevin Ford stepped away from the group, overcome with shock at their expressions. He looked to Cessily, whom gave her a sweet smile. She one of the only people he could touch.

'Why not stay with her?' Kevin, AKA Wither wondered.

He smiled back, unintentionally encouraging the girl to accept her name of Mercury. Copycat looked nervously between Agent Jackson and the students. The Agent was completely unaware of the student's stances. He instead continued his argument with Kevin, AKA Nightstalker.

"You turn your back on this now Ironside and you'll be a traitor to your country, no money and certainly no pardon…"

Jackson's rant was cut off as a fist collided with his cheek. The force of Kevin's punch threw the agent to the ground.

"FUCK YOUR MONEY! FUCK THE PARDON! THESE KIDS DESERVED BETTER THEN WHAT WE GAVE THEM!" Kevin yelled.

"This has been coming a long time Ironside, good to know you threw the first punch," Sabretooth cackled.

"X-men…NOW!" Scott yelled.

Cyclops opened his mask, unleashing an optic blast on one of the Sentinels. He didn't hold back, shredding the robot's armour with his blast. The rest of the students scattered, with Kitty grabbing Kurt's body and running as fast as she could. Santo, AKA Rockslide fired his granite limps, hitting two soldier's in the chest. Monet put her hand to her head, surprising Sage with a telepathic wave. Soldier's pointed their guns at Virgil, only for their weapons to explode from within. The soldier's quickly threw their guns aside as the crystals Virgil created expanded from within the firearms. Jackson reached into his pocket, having no hesitation in his next order:

"Bring the rest of the troops in, excessive force authorised," He said.

"You son of a bitch," Kevin growled.

"They aren't kids Ironside, they're combatants now what's it going to be, us or them?" Copycat asked.

"Think about this Kevin, no more running," Wraith said.

"What happened to you John? You used to be a good man," Kevin said.

"We were never good Kevin, that was something you never got. The things we did, there's a special place in hell for that, if I can redeem myself at least legally then maybe there's a chance I can sleep at night without getting stinking drunk!" John explained.

"You too Maverick?"

"I don't agree with it either Kevin but I've got my orders," Maverick said.

Kevin sighed before sharpening his nails. He rushed towards Sabretooth, slashing the man across the chest as Cyclops fired a blast into Maverick's chest. Jackson tried to aim at something through the confusion. But he didn't notice Karl rushing towards him. Karl slammed his fist into the agent's face, finally breaking the man's glasses and knocking him out cold. The ground shook as more Sentinel's began landing, focusing their attention on the X-men. Noriko tackled David to the floor, dodging a flurry of bullets. Surge prepared to fire a cloud of electricity, but something popped behind the two soldiers.

"You stupid trigger-happy soldiers, this fic may be M-Rated, but that's no reason to shoot at children," Deadpool said as he knocked the two soldier's out.

The renegade mercenary then teleported behind another soldier, knocking him out with a punch.

"Your all probably gonna die in a few chapters, none of you have got nametags on, you've got no chance," Deadpool then turned his head in a very specific direction. "And **you, **people hitting the fic but not reviewing, there's a lot going on here how can you not review?"

"What the hell is wrong with this guy?" Noriko asked.

It was a purely rhetorical question that wouldn't get answered. Another Sentinel landed, firing a blast that sent Deadpool flying into the trees. Kevin rolled across the dirt, ripping off a chunk of Creed's shoulder with his fangs. Sabretooth dragged Kevin around before throwing him towards the medical tent. The tent collapsed over the doctors and their wounded. Sabretooth then got onto all fours, running towards Kevin. But a green field suddenly surrounded the madman, lifting him off the floor and throwing him into Copycat. Julian telekinetically threw the tent cover off, then ripped open a Sentinel's chest plate. Mercury then jumped towards the Sentinel, stabbing its battery with her own sharpened arm.

"Don't be too thorough, just slow them down," Cyclops said before shooting a Sentinel's leg.

The sentinel soon collapsed, landing straight on Rockslide's punch. Virgil created a crystal, protecting Laurie and Sofia from a barrage of bullets. He then swung around, creating a crystal sword and slicing soldier's rifle in half. Jay swooped downwards, punching the soldier that tried attacking Virgil. Sofia blew several soldiers away with a gust of wind. Then she directed Laurie's fear pheromones, driving away another group.

"Anyone who can fly get in a group and get going," Angel ordered.

"Don't have to tell me twice," Jay said as he flapped his wings.

Monet floated off the ground, slamming her fists into a Sentinel's chest. She yelled before knocking off the Sentinel's head. Morph stretched his arm, throwing two soldiers aside before creating a pair of wings on his back.

"Remember the rally point, we'll regroup there," Scott said.

Angel mockingly saluted the team leader before taking off with the flyers. Accompanying him was Wind Dancer, Icarus, M and Morph. Warren stopped as he noticed Kitty running towards the gate. With her were Elixir, Prodigy and Surge. Suddenly, a blast flew into Kitty's side, knocking her to the ground. Soldiers rushed out of the woods, this time equipped with deadlier weapons. The pulse rifles they had hurt Kitty even when she phased. Surge threw her hands forward, absorbing the electricity in their batteries. Kitty then phased into the ground, a smart tactic she had never done in the Danger Room. She then phased back out of the ground, right behind the soldiers. Using the martial arts moves Logan had taught her; Kitty disarmed the men with kicks and throws.

"Wait, where's Kurt's body?" David asked.

Warren had still been watching them; he had seen exactly what happened. He looked to his group; they were waiting for him to accompany them. Then he saw something else heading towards Kitty's group. Diving downwards, Angel braced himself to tackle the group. He pushed the teens to the ground as harpoons flew past their heads. Soldiers were running out of the forest and surrounding the gate. Virgil created a crystal shield, protecting himself from a Sentinel blast.

"You idiots just couldn't surrender could you, self-righteous bastards like you got my boyfriend killed," Copycat said as she kicked Virgil across the face.

"And selfish bitches like yourself are the reason this worlds going to hell" He replied back.

Copycat swung her arm forward, but Virgil quickly grabbed her wrist and threw the woman over his shoulder.

"I'm not selfish, I'm here because Weapon X can bring my boyfriend back."

"YOU IDIOT COPYCAT!" Sabretooth yelled.

"Weapon X? You guys are Weapon X?" Kevin asked.

"How else do you think they would have been able to recover those files?"

Kevin slashed Sabretooth across the face and yelled, unleashing a sonic screech on a group of soldier's. Cyclops then opened his mask, releasing an optic blast that consumed all he looked at.

* * *

The X-men had been separated and demoralised. Kurt was KIA, Jean and Lorna were MIA and the Omega Sentinels had captured Colossus. Right now simple survival and recovery were the X-men's best options. Hank and Bobby's group had stopped at the nearest island they could find. This island just happened to be Australia, the jet had taken them further then they original thought. As soon as they found some cover, they stripped off their uniforms and found civilian clothing to wear.

"So what's the next move?" Bobby asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"We get in touch with Moira McTaggart, she runs a splinter school on Muir Island. She'll know what to do, plus it'll give us a place to rest up while waiting for the others," Hank explained, covering his face with a hood.

"Well that sounds easy, alls we need to do is find the nearest phone, or at least a phone that'll let us call Scotland," Dazzler said.

"Actually there's a safe house about three towns away from here, I'd calculate a few days travel at the most."

"So how do we go about it? Hitchhiking? Or should we wait for our energy to come back?" Sam asked.

"I've got a wallet and credit card," Bobby pointed out.

"Good, you can pay for food, I'm starving," Ali said.

Jubilee patted Bobby's back while Rahne smiled. Bobby let out a sigh of defeat as the group walked towards the nearest café. It would be a good point to discuss their plans further before they did anything. Their group had it easy in comparison to Ororo's. She and the two men accompanying hugged their backs against a bus as several Prime Sentinel's flew over them. Ororo poked her head out of cover to witness a truly disgusting site. A man had just walked out of his house, only to clutch his heart. He let out a yell of pain as he dropped his brief case.

"Honey what's wrong?" His wife asked, rushing out of the house.

"My heart….GAAA11000!" The man's chest opened, revealing a pulsing metal heart.

Liquid metal began to cover the man's body, creating armour on his chest and shoulders. His eyes let out a red glow, while his face settled into an emotionless stare.

"Paul, Paul is that you?" His wife asked.

The woman fell back as the machine man hovered off of the ground. Tears began to fall down her face, as her eyes remained locked on her husbands retreating form. Once the Prime Sentinel was out of site, Ororo walked to the woman's side, wrapping her coat around her. She motioned for Shiro and John to check the area before the moved into the house. Once inside, Ororo placed the young woman on the sofa. The poor girl was in shock at what she had witnessed, she didn't have the energy to fight her intruders. John and Shiro both waited for Ororo's orders, neither one was willing to dishonour themselves by stealing. Ororo had no intention of getting food by stealing; instead she stayed with the woman. They would interview her as soon as she was able to answer their questions. But Ororo had a theory on what had happened. Whoever controlled the cybernetic implants had activated their hidden programs. The Sleeper agents were now awake and converging on the hospital. Logan and Rogue had left the area a long time ago. They didn't stay to watch the Sentinels recover Bastion.

"What now?" Rogue asked.

"Now, we get ourselves a car," Logan said.

"Good I can hot wire it while you distract the driver."

"Where did you learn to hotwire a car?" Logan asked.

"My adopted mother taught me."

"I heard your adopted mother was blind."

"My other adopted mother!"

"You've had more than one adopted family?"

Rogue turned to look at Logan, her eyebrows raised. He scratched his head for a moment before putting two and two together.

"I see, hard to believe a gay couple could adopt," Logan said.

"My other mother was a mutant, she could change the way she looked!"

Logan nodded his head; at least one shape shifter was sensible. He recalled the time Morph saved money by using his powers instead of a playboy magazine. Walking in on the teenager was a memory that still haunted Logan. They found what they were looking for at a bar. Logan went inside, ignoring the puzzled looks at his shirtless form as he ordered a beer. While he drank, Rogue began searching for cars they could hijack. She smirked as she saw a young man pulling up in a sports car. Slipping her gloves off and zipping her suit half open, Rogue prepared to make her move.

"Hey Sugah, how much did the car cost?" Rogue asked, leaning against the door with a sultry smile.

The man was taken a back before a grin ran across his face.

"Not much really, I know some people," He whispered.

"So your connected, sounds cool, do you think you could hook a gal up?"

"I don't know, what's in it for me?" He asked.

"I'll give you a little preview," Rogue sultry smiled as she leant across the door.

She captured the man's lips with hers. He groaned in pain as the images flashed before Rogue's eyes. She saw just how connected he was. The young man had done work for the mob, including killing mutants. Rogue made sure she held on longer, this guy deserved to be in a coma. Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder rip her away from the kiss.

"Easy darlin, don't…absorb or do whatever it is you do for too long. Good job though, come on we'll take this car and get to an airport!" Logan explained.

"Why an airport?" Rogue asked.

"I'm sending you to Muir Island, the doctor there should be able to help you with your powers, plus it'll be where the other X-men regroup."

"Where will you go?"

"Canada, but not by plane, as you can imagine an airport is the worst place for me to be."

Rogue chuckled as Logan threw the old driver out of the car. Climbing into the passenger seat beside him, Rogue fastened her seat belt as Logan started the car. She couldn't help but keep her eyes on the gruff Canadian, he had the hairiest arms but the biggest abs she had ever seen. Thank god he still kept his shirt off, it gave Rogue something to focus on besides the memories floating around in her head.

* * *

All out chaos had erupted at the Xavier institute. Kevin and Scott were at the back of the retreating group, providing a valuable distraction. Warren scooped Laurie up in his arms, flying her away from danger. The soldiers and sentinels were still pursuing them. Maverick slammed his fist against the ground, lighting it up with pink energy. He then punched Rockslide across the face, taking off a piece of his jaw. Mercury swung her bladed arms at Maverick, only for him to electrocute her with the kinetic energy he gathered. Quickly pulling a staff from his back, Maverick activated the electric tip. He then thrust the taser into Wither's chest, knocking him to the floor.

"This is Agent Brent Jackson, I want containment teams down here now, Sabretooth, Copycat you two go after the flyers!" Jackson commanded.

"Roger that," Copycat said.

She turned away from her fight with Virgil and grew a pair of angelic wings. Copycat then flew after the students, while Sabretooth ran on all fours. He dodged a sonic scream from Kevin, and then flipped over one of Scott's optic blasts. Virgil broke off into a run, bullets flying past his head as he made his way towards Maverick. Wraith suddenly teleported in front of Virgil and halted his advance with a punch.

"Sorry kid, can't let you do that," Wraith said.

Virgil looked to Rockslide, Mercury and Wither, gritting his teeth together as he concentrated. He put his hands on the ground, letting out a deep breath as he thought of one of Xavier's lessons. Anger was a powerful tool, but so was serenity. Peace of mind and happiness could achieve greater feats than anger. Even though he didn't have many happy memories at the mansion, Virgil thought back to the rare moments he had with his father. The way his father would set him on his shoulders, turning away from his experiments for but a short moment. That moment was all Virgil needed. His eyes let out a silvery glow before rocks of crystal began bursting out of the ground. One crystal rock struck Maverick in the side, knocking him off balance. Santo then used this opportunity, punching Maverick so hard that he flew into Wraith's back.

"Great job buddy, even I've got to admit that was bad ass," Santo said as he helped Virgil off the floor.

"Don't call me buddy," Virgil said casually, but that didn't stop him from smiling.

"Come on lets run for it," Wither helped Mercury off the floor, giving her an encouraging smile before running.

Sabretooth leapt towards David, but a blast suddenly hit him in the back. He turned, glaring at Kevin as his hands sparked. Kevin let loose another electric blast, using the powers he had absorbed from drinking Noriko's blood. Suddenly a blast flew into his back, burning his shirt. Kevin turned to where the blast had come from, his eyes glowing red as he glared at Agent Jackson. The Sentinels then fired their eye lasers, hitting Kevin in the chest and face. He yelled, his skin painfully regenerating. Sabretooth smirked as he turned back to the students. Surge suddenly yelled, hitting Sabretooth with a full power electric blast. He yelled in agony and rage as the electricity fried most of his organs. Rolling across the floor, Sabretooth flinched repeatedly as the electricity still flowed through him.

"We need to go now as quickly as we can, remember Scott's plan and don't look back for anything, look back for someone!" Angel said to Laurie as he opened the main gate.

Scott ran to Kevin's side, shooting another Sentinel in the head. Supporting Kevin's weight, Scott began carrying him towards the gate military style. Copycat fired energy blasts from her hand, trying to hit the retreating flyers. Monet turned around and clapped her hands together as hard as she could. The force of her slap released a shockwave that sent Copycat flying, hitting her head against a tree. Quill crawled across the floor, looking up at Julian as he telekinetically threw several soldiers.

"Go with the others Jules," Max said.

"No way, I'm not leaving you and the Professor to whatever these Homo-Sapien's have in store for you!"

Julian let out a yell as an electric blast hit him from behind. Maverick turned his pulse rifle on the retreating forms of Remy and Noah. Remy suddenly turned and charged the stick he had picked up off the ground. Throwing the stick like a spear, Remy then resumed his run. Maverick dived to his left, just dodging the stick as it exploded. Noah and Remy both ran past Scott, stopping halfway to shoot two Sentinel's pursuing them.

"COME ON SCOTT!" David yelled from the gate.

The students that still remained watched as Scott continued his run towards the gate. Several more soldiers were also running after him, firing their pulse rifles. The squad was just beginning to catch up with the X-leader. Meanwhile Agent Jackson marched towards the ruins of the armoury tent in frustration. He picked a case up off the ground, opening it to reveal a harpoon gun. Lifting the heavy gun onto his shoulder, Jackson marched with several surviving soldiers.

"He'll never make it," Josh said.

"No he can do it, GO SCOTT GO!" Noriko yelled.

"What about Kurt' body, we cant just leave it," Kitty said.

Warren held his tongue; he knew exactly what had happened to Kurt's body. But now wasn't the time for revelations, now was the time for actions. It was then that Warren noticed the belt on an unconscious soldier. Several smoke grenades were strapped to the belt. Without a moments hesitation Warren grabbed the belt and flew into the air. Unclipping the pins of the grenades, Warren threw the belt between Scott and the pursuing soldiers. When the grenades exploded they covered the grounds with tear gas. Angel dived towards Scott, slamming into his back. Using all his strength, Warren flew Scott and Kevin to the gate.

"Great job Angel," Scott said.

"No problem Cyclops, now what are we waiting for?" Warren asked.

"He's right, you kids need to get out of here and quickly," Kevin stated as Scott put him on the ground.

"Nothing's ever going to be the same," Wither muttered.

The group hung their heads for a moment before the sound of Angel's wings interrupted their musings. Angel began flapping his wings, practically hovering off the ground as he looked to Scott.

"Take care of these guys Scott, I'll go join the rest of the…"

Warren's speech was suddenly cut off by the deafening bang. None of the X-men saw the harpoon coming, it all happened in a flash to them. The harpoon struck Warren's left wing, throwing and pinning him against the wall of the gate. Warren let out a yell of frustration and pain, feeling the bone of his wing shatter.

"Oh my god," Laurie whispered.

"WARREN!" Scott yelled.

He ran behind Warren, looking at the damage. Several of the white feathers had scattered to the floor, while Warren's wing flinched.

"Pull it out," Noriko said.

Scott looked apologetically at Warren as he and Virgil grabbed the handle of the harpoon. They pulled, wincing as Warren yelled.

"AAAGH FUCK! NO STOP!" Warren screamed.

To his credit he didn't cry, despite the huge pride he held for his wings. Josh hesitantly looked at the wound, cringing as blood spurted from it.

"Let me pull it out, Foley can then heal it," Santo said.

"No forget it, it'll take too long, you guys need to get going while they're distracted," Warren stated.

"I'm cant just leave you," Scott said.

"You're the leader of the X-men Scott, you have to do whatever it takes to keep us alive. You're the one who has to make the hard decisions, that's the responsibility you've been given!"

Scott looked down for a moment. He let go of the harpoon and gave Warren a final nod.

"God speed everyone, NOW GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!" Warren yelled.

With heavy hearts, the X-men continued their retreat. Running as fast as they could, the students didn't look back. Warren kept up his smile and bravado, even as the smoke faded.

Progress had come at a heavy price. Karl felt that as he ran with the X-men. Already so much had been sacrificed. The X-men's Black Bird destroyed, Polaris disappeared, Colossus, Angel and the Professor captured. Now they couldn't even bury Kurt because his body had mysteriously vanished. Karl looked at his own damage body and knew that he needed to make changes. Salem's Centre was just a short distance away and Angel had given them a good head start. The flyers had most likely already arrived. Karl's predictions were correct as the flying students were already getting to work on setting up a perimeter. Morph stretched his hand underneath the door to the mall, unlocking the door from the inside. Monet barged past Morph, storming towards the clothes stores.

"The most important thing we need is water and food, Morph, Icarus you two get bags and start gathering supplies," Sofia explained.

"Your sexy when you take command," Morph stated with a grin.

"Icarus huh, I suppose it fits me," Jay muttered.

"Go on, get going, I'll listen out for the others!"

Monet was currently wading her way through clothes at the fashion store. She put a hand to her chin as she considered some of the looks she should go for. Morph and Jay however were spending their time looking for snacks and water. Jay dropped a whole shelf of water bottles into a bag he found. Morph stretched his hands down aisles, finding energy bars and food that would keep the massive group going. Monet took an outfit from the rack and looked at it in the mirror. She checked the size and style, thinking about whether it would be appropriate for the situation.

"Working hard Monet?" Jay asked as he flew by the shop.

"Pout all you want dear, your jaw will drop once I found a real outfit," Monet chuckled.

Sofia sat on a bench, listening out for danger. Her eyes widened in shock as she heard the exchange between Scott and Warren. Floating down to her side, Jay looked at the girl as she cried.

"What happened?" he asked.

"We've lost another one," Her lips trembled as she spoke.

* * *

Jay wasn't the only X-man who had to comfort a crying soul. Storm sat with the young woman whose husband had turned into an Omega Sentinel. Sunfire and Thunderbird both waited outside as Storm told the woman about the dirty dealings of Hodge's company.

"I should have known it was all too good to be true, Paul was diagnosed with a rare heart condition. As time went by he would have physically deteriorated, it didn't matter what changed we made to his life style, and then Mr Hodge comes around. He gave us the pacemaker for free you know; said people like us deserved help. I should have known he was lying."

The woman covered her eyes, while Ororo patted her back. It was a heavy burden, but people needed to be told the truth.

"My husband and I had no love for mutants, but seeing this being done by our own kind and the Redding's, they murdered their own son but the police did nothing!"

"They were in on it?" Sunfire asked from the doorway.

"I don't know the specifics but I do know that Mr Redding was pretty chummy with the police chief, they might have worked together to cover their tracks!" The woman said.

"Maybe we should pay the chief a visit," John said.

"No, we're leaving, I just wanted you to know the truth miss, we're very sorry for your loss," Ororo said as she bowed solemnly.

"Thank you for telling me, please do me a favour, make sure the whole world knows what that bastard did. Please tell the whole world what happened!"

Ororo lowered her head, if Hodge's plans were as big as he made them out to be then it was likely the whole world would know soon. When the trio got outside, Storm prepared to fly.

"Wait," The woman called out from the house.

The group turned around, with Ororo raising her eyebrows in confusion.

"You'll probably draw less attention if you don't fly, here take my husbands pick up truck. Who knows maybe you'll find other mutants you can help," The woman explained.

She put the keys in Ororo's hand.

"You asked us to make sure everyone knew, I thought you would want Cameron Hodge dead," Ororo said.

"I wouldn't shed tears if you did kill him, but I know that the X-men don't kill their enemies. You reveal their crimes so that the public can punish them. Besides Cameron Hodge has probably built his own hell, when he dies his punishment will be waiting for him. Men like Hodge, consumed by blind hatred will be punished if not in this life then in whatever waits for them after. Don't dirty your own souls by stooping to his level," The woman explained, removing a cross from her pocket.

For a moment Ororo thought she saw Kurt speaking to her, telling her what their duty as heroes was. Looking at both the keys and the cross, Ororo whispered a thank you. Shortly after she, Shiro and John quietly drove out of the town. When they hit the open rode, Ororo untied her hair and looked at the cross she had been given. She closed her eyes, praying for both the safety of her friends and the ascension of those they had lost.

* * *

Agent Brent Jackson wasn't a man who disliked mutants. On the contrary he saw them as a valuable resource. Whoever had the most mutants in their squad controlled the balance of power in Weapon X. Magneto and Xavier could be used against their will, after all they could be painted as criminals. The students however required careful manipulation to recruit. Jackson and his men had surrounded Angel, some were even laughing at the man's position.

"You seem to be stuck Mr Worthington, would you like some help?" Jackson asked.

"Go fuck yourself," Warren growled.

"This could have been avoided Warren if you had just put aside your damn pride," Copycat said.

"You guys think your just following orders don't you? That's the worst kind of sin, hiding your hate with ignorance and attacking children like this!"

"God damn it Warren don't get religious with me it doesn't suit you."

"You think these guys will reward you for what you've done Vanessa, they wont, they give a shit about you and your boyfriend. These were the guys that took Wolverine's memories, the men that turned Wade Wilson and Kevin Ironside into monsters. They stood by and watched as we bled and died fighting a threat that they're obviously involved with. These men, consumed by their hate and ambitions are the real devils, not Kurt, not any of us!"

Sabretooth laughed as Jackson mockingly clapped his hands.

"I'm an X-man Vanessa, my loyalty has always been to my friends and Xavier's dream. It's a dream we all share of a better world, better than the one your new bosses will make," Warren said.

"That's all well and good Mr Worthington but that doesn't help your current situation," Jackson said.

"It doesn't matter, I'm ready to die if I have to!"

"If you say so," Sabretooth grinned.

He grabbed Angel by his neck and placed a foot on his pinned wing. Smiling with enjoyment, Sabretooth yanked Warren, dislocating his wing muscle. Copycat actually cringed as she heard the pop of bone. Warren yelled in agony, his voice filling the school grounds.

"WARREN!" Charles yelled, jumping off his stretcher.

Warren's screaming got worse as Sabretooth began to pull harder. Without mercy or regret, Sabretooth tore Warren away from his wing. He then flung Warren into the ground.

"They're not eagle wings, they're chicken wings," Victor mused as he ripped the wing off the wall.

Much to the disgust and shock of Warren, Sabretooth began taking bites out of the wing.

"Hmmm, I looove chicken!" Sabretooth grinned.

"You bastard, I'LL KILL YOU!" Warren yelled.

Jackson slammed the butt of his rifle into Warren's head, knocking the crippled mutant out. Wraith and Maverick looked at Sabretooth as he continued to eat Warrens wing. They both lowered their heads, wondering whether they had picked the right side.

When he awoke he found that his vision had blurred. But his other senses were still active. He could feel the heat around him, like he was in an oven. A smell stung his nostrils, a mixture of smoke and brimstone. When his vision finally cleared he gasped and what had happened. Everything around him was burning, the rocks, even the ground itself. He was in the middle of a ring of fire and beyond the ring were numerous others. They were dressed in red cloaks and hoods. Feeling his chest, he noticed that he had been stripped of his uniform, wearing a simple pair of jeans. But that's not all he noticed, for one thing he no longer had an arm fused to his chest.

"Vhat is going on?" Kurt wondered.

"You were clinically dead, that's wasn't part of the plan. But it didn't matter, I found you and brought you here!"

Kurt turned around, widening his eyes at what he saw. The man's skin was a deep red colour. Robes and armour covered his body as if he was royalty. His gold studded belt had two cutlass blades strapped to it. But his most defining feature was one he shared with Kurt, a prehensile tail.

"This cant be," Kurt gasped.

"Oh don't worry, your soul isn't damned yet, this place just looks a lot like hell because I want it to. I could make it look better if you'd like," The red skinned man clicked his fingers, causing the flames to disappear.

But the world was still dark, almost like a desert at night. Kurt felt cold now, but he stifled a shiver and looked at the man.

"I died protecting Karl, vhat did you to?" He asked.

"I resurrected you, or at least reversed the damage done. That's a lesson you should really take to heart my boy, you don't teleport around an object," The man spoke as if he was lecturing a child.

"Who are you?" Kurt demanded.

"This is Limbo, my dimension and the place you draw your power from, my name is Azazel, ruler of this hellish place…but you can call me Dad," The man grinned.

Kurt rubbed his head; despite this revelation his first thoughts had always been on his friends. He needed to get back home quickly!

Next Chapter 20: X-men on the run

* * *

Bet no one saw that bomb shell coming :). Thats right the lord of Limbo is a chief villain and the blue elfish devil we all love isnt dead yet. Next time its the X-men on the run as they try to out do their pursuers and overcome in fighting within their groups. Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: i dont own the X-men

Kevin Ironside is the property of 00virtuezero and Aeon and Deathblade are my own creations.

This chapter the stakes for the X-men get higher as Karl figures out why he was killed.

* * *

The Dream We Share

Chapter 20: X-men on the run

Nicholas Fury had three times in his experience, as S.H.I.E.L.D. director were major crisis's overwhelmed him. The first crisis was the mass breakout of super villain prisons, leading to the creation of the Avengers. Second came the Magneto disaster, when the Brotherhood leader tried to invade America. Thirdly was an invasion from the alien Kree in search of the Cosmic Cube. But those events were nothing compared to the racism and ethical issue of mutant rights. Hate for mutants could trigger tragedy, the kind of tragedy America knew had been happening in Germany and Poland.

"Someone tell me why the hell we have Sentinels flying around outside," Fury growled as he addressed his staff.

"Sir we've received a report from the Mutant Response division under Malcolm Colcord, he says, "in response to recent events, the President has ordered me to contain all mutants within a major population centre and transfer to a facility in Canada for both their protection and the protection of human citizens"" Daisy Dugan explained.

"They called them Work camps back in the Thirties," Veteran Gabe Jones Muttered.

Fury sighed, looking at the videos of MRD troops gathering mutants. He was surprised to see some familiar faces amongst the crowds of people. Danielle Moonstar was a Native American girl and was proud of her heritage. She even had an eagle feather on her braid. Dani looked over the shoulders of the people around her, widening her eyes to see a familiar face.

"Zuzha," She called out.

The girl in question turned to Dani, revealing the red tattoo marks on her cheeks. Zuzha Yu smiled as she jumped over a civilian, landing in front of Dani.

"How have you been Dani?" Zuzha asked.

"Not so well, I miss the old faces," Dani said.

"Yeah, I don't know whether it's a good thing that we left the mansion or not."

"What do you mean?" Dani curiously inquired.

"Didn't you hear the news? The governments occupied the mansion; the X-men are enemies of the states now for sheltering Magneto. But with all the chaos caused by new mutants lately, the government has decided to put its foot down on the "mutant problem"" Zuzha quoted with her fingers, motioning to the gathered mutants around them.

Danielle looked to the other buildings; visible mutants were being pulled out of their homes. Some were children getting dragged away from parents. The mere sight of it made Dani's blood boil, but she strived to keep control of her fear inducing powers. Zuzha squeezed her gloved hands into fists as she looked at the Sentinel's; they acted as borders to keep people into the circle. Several more Sentinel's landed in front of the crowd. These Sentinel's were different however, they were less human in shape, and more like creatures with clawed fingertips and hunched necks. Much to the crowd's shock, the head of one of the inhuman Sentinel's opened, revealing a human pilot.

"All mutant citizens, please step out of your homes, we are from the Office of National Emergency, all mutant citizens are to be evacuated from their homes and transferred to a temporary housing facility in Canada," The military officer explained.

Fear began to spread amongst the mutant population as transports moved into the city. Nick Fury turned his view screen off in disgust, slamming his fist against the table.

"Dugan, reassign all of our emergency staff to disaster response and cold cases, get the Avengers and Ultimates missions too," Fury ordered.

"But why sir?" Dugan asked.

"Because I want all our forces too engrossed in real work to get involved in a witch hunt, Jones I want you covering the cold case unit, Danvers you handle disaster relief…O'Grady what are you doing?"

"I'm thinking sir," The red headed agent replied.

"Well think me up a phone so I can talk to the president, then get me a cup of coffee…I want everyone WORKING!" Everyone moved to carry out his or her assigned tasks.

His plan was simple; S.H.I.E.L.D. would be too engrossed in its own problems to help the mutant response division. Right now Fury knew that the only thing he could do was buy the X-men some time.

* * *

The X-men needed as much time as they could get. When Scott and his group arrived at the mall he immediately tried to rally them. His efforts proved in vain, everyone was too demoralised from what had happened. Karl went to an electronics shop and switched on one of the TV's. Wither, Kitty and Laurie walked to his side and watched the news report.

_"It seems that mutants across America are finally being contained by the mutant response division. Details are unknown right now but so far public response to these actions have been positive."_

"You've got to be shitting me," Kevin said.

"Those people are actually agreeing with concentration camps?" Kitty asked.

"No, that's not the case, public opinion can be easily influenced with the media, if you hear that a large majority of people agree with something then your more likely to agree with it," Karl explained.

"Basically they're lying to get everyone to relax and think everything's all right," Laurie nervously shuffled her feet as she hugged her arms.

Scott zipped open the bag Morph carried, analysing the provisions he had gathered. Santo and Cessily were looking for radio's, with Santo clumsily breaking some of the shelves. Cessily chided her friends; both of them were acting as if nothing had happened. While the others rested, Gambit made his way to cashier desks throughout the mall. He picked open the locks on the cashiers and started putting money in the bag he had.

"Remy what do you think your doing?" Sofia asked.

"We're going to need plenty of money, this mall security is so lax no? They think guys like Remy wont sneak in and steal from the cashier's. This one didn't even flight his till," Remy grinned as he counted numerous dollar bills.

"Put the money down now Remy," Sofia growled.

"Hey Cheri, Remy's just trying to help."

"Your not helping our case, you're just proving that mutants are criminals."

"What's going on here?" Scott asked as he ran into the store.

"Remy's stealing," Sofia pointed at the Cajun, causing some nearby CD's to fall to the floor.

"Hellooo, we're all stealing, Monet stealing some clothes, you're stealing some water."

"We need water to survive."

"We also need money if we're going to buy extra food and keep a low profile."

"That's enough both of you," Scott ordered the two students. "The last thing we need is to be fighting each other."

A sudden crash caught the trio's attention. Rockslide was holding Karl against the wall, gripping the android's neck.

"What the hell are you guys doing?" Scott asked.

"Santo, put him down," Cessily ordered.

"You cant be serious Cess, this all started when this thing came to the mansion and killed most of our friends," Wither said.

"But Forge fixed him didn't he?" Laurie asked.

Karl didn't struggle against Santo's grip. Both Remy and Scott tried to pry the rocky teenager off of Karl. But their efforts were useless against Santo's superior strength. Kevin Ironside put his fingers to his mouth and whistled, catching everyone's attention.

"Listen everyone, take it from someone who knows but when a unit starts fighting amongst themselves then more shit hits the fan. Right now your fugitives, you cant trust anyone outside, what you need to do is trust each other," Kevin explained.

"But for safeties sake shouldn't we assume that the Sentinel is a spy?" David asked.

"What are you getting at Prodigy?" Noriko inquired.

"Listen this thing…yes he may still be human but he was also altered by the guys who created the Sentinels. At the end of the day he is a Sentinel, its safer to assume that he has some kind of program that'll make him turn on us whether he wants to or not," The young man explained.

Some members of the group nervously shifted positions, while Noah put a hand to his chin. Like Noriko he agreed with David's hypothesis. Even Scott was having a difficult time trusting Karl. But not everyone agreed, as evidenced by Virgil and Laurie's stances.

"Karl could have betrayed us before we retreated from the mansion, or he could have betrayed the X-men any time he was with them," There was an odd feeling of courage in Laurie's voice as she stood up for Karl.

"Laurie's right, it would have been logical for Karl to kill us all before we reached the mall. Sentinels are machines and they always base their plans on logic, killing us then would have been logical, but biding and delaying isn't," Virgil explained.

"Pointing fingers at one another is all well and good but what are we going to do right now?" Kitty asked.

"We should destroy this thing just to be safe," Santo said, tightening his grip on Karl's neck.

Karl put his hand on Santo's and looked at the teenagers in front of him.

"Before you pass judgement on me there's something you should know, I recently recovered my memories. My parents killed me not just out of self-defence, not just to use me as a Prime Sentinel prototype, but also because they needed to get their hands on a computer program I created. I don't know for certain but it makes sense for them to use the program I made," He explained.

Santo dropped the Sentinel, stepping back as he addressed the group. Karl put a hand to his chin, thinking deeply before walking to the electronics store. He walked around the store, looking for something he could use. When he found what he was looking for he waited for the group to arrive before sitting at a work unit that was on display. The unit included a black desk and a computer. So far only David, Cyclops, Sofia, Kevin and Laurie had followed him. The others were waiting outside, while Remy resumed his money collection. Monet was still going through possible outfits, while Jay leant against the wall outside the shop.

"Okay" Karl began as he motioned to the computer. "Most teenagers have a computer and primarily use the internet for whatever they want," He dug his finger into the desk, making a circle and several lines.

"Now whether you realise it or not Internet connections are all controlled by a network, when that Network is down the Internet in that entire region is down. This applies to broadband, phone lines and wireless Internet networks. The system I composed would allow a single computer to monitor and control every computer in a network."

"I get it, the system allowed you to control whatever it was connected to," David said.

"Essentially yes, it was a control mechanism. I planned to sell it to the government in order to improve several things, national security by monitoring the emails of potential terrorists, social site bullying and stalking as well as cons on the internet. But the system would be useless without a computer capable of connecting it to other machines, like a satellite box without a dish," Karl explained.

"So the common flaw was that you couldn't get your hands on a computer capable of using the system?" Kevin asked.

"The system needed an advanced amplification device, something that utilises the Earth's magnetic waves to monitor computers or machines across the whole world…wait a minute, do any of you know how Cerebro works?" Karl inquired as he walked away from the group.

Everyone followed him as he made his way out of the store. On his way out he grabbed a permanent marker and walked towards a wall. Tapping the pen against the wall, Karl's head was raised in an inquisitive gesture. Then he dragged the ink across the wall, drawing a spherical object. Cyclops saw the platform Karl drew in the middle and immediately identified the drawing as Cerebro. Karl drew several lines moving away from Cerebro, a few intellectuals amongst the group knew he was drawing lines to represent a wireless network. Tapping the tip of the pen against his head, Karl thought more and more, the literal gears of his brain turning.

"Jesus, that was the whole point of the mission, Colcord and Creed weren't after you guys, they were trying to clear the school out so they could get this Cerebro device," Kevin concluded.

"Exactly," Karl said. "Cerebro amplifies Xavier's telepathy so that he can link himself with the entire planet…"

"Enabling him to track mutants," Kitty added.

"But if he concentrates hard enough he can kill someone, maybe they're trying to kill mutants by manipulating Xavier into concentrating, then they just clear out the mutant camps and call it an unexplained event," Scott explained.

"But what about this system Karl was on about?" Laurie asked.

"Forget the system, isn't it obvious, they're trying to kill all the mutants by using Cerebro," Cessily said.

"It makes sense and it would certainly fulfil the Modus operandi of hate groups like the Church of Humanity and the Mutant Response division. But its far too simple, too grand a scheme for a man like Jackson, though he is a pawn he's also the face of this plot," Karl explained.

"I can vouch for that, Jackson's a coward, he doesn't have it in him to kill a whole species," Kevin said.

"And there's something else too, they would never be able to control Xavier so easily. Then there are the resources that mutants can provide…there are some mutants that can defy the laws of science; Jackson's superiors wouldn't want to waste that potential resource. They're not trying to kill all the mutants, yes they'll end up killing some mutants but the true logical goal here is domination."

Karl stroked his chin and the X-men were taken aback by his human tendencies. Then it came to Karl, the problem he had been looking for.

"They're going to integrate Cerebro into the control system I designed and use it to control Sentinels on a global scale. A whole army of Sentinels all controlled by a single machine, Omega Sentinel Model Bastion, the one who killed Kurt," Karl lowered his head as the others gasped.

"So this Bastion guy is going to declare himself the Overlord and bring Terminator Salvation into the real world?" Kevin asked.

"That was a great film but this isn't really the time for wisecracks mister," Noriko said.

Santo suddenly came marching over, grabbing Kevin and slamming him against the wall.

"Why are we keeping this guy around, he could be a spy too," Santo said.

"Yes Thing wannabe, lets follow the not trusting each other stereotype," sarcasm dripped from Kevin's voice.

"Shut up, I left two good friends behind and two more could be dead. The mansion's gone and we're now taking in the guy who murdered our friends when this crap all started," Santo explained.

Cyclops sighed before opening his mask. He fired a blast from his eyes, knocking Santo off of Kevin and into the wall.

"Hey what the hells going on here?" Icarus asked.

"We don't have time to be fighting each other, it's the last thing we should be doing. Right now our friends are out there doing what they can to survive. Two of our own are dead, seven are captured with three severally wounded. Hundreds of our people the mutants we protect are also being rounded up and put into camps as part of some secret plot to rule the world. It may sound cliché and it may be impossible but we can't give into despair. Alls we can do now is rally up and make a stand and do what we need to work together."

Scott's speech left everyone speechless. A sudden clapping sound alerted the group and they turned their eyes to the balcony. Monet stood on the balcony, clapping her hands together. Most of the men, Kevin included dropped their jaws at the sight of the woman. She wore a tight red bodysuit with a sleeveless top and fingerless opera style gloves. The short red cape she threw on her shoulders completed her look.

"Bravo Scott, but we cant save the world without a little style for our costumes can we?" The woman asked.

Scott shook his head, now wasn't the time for bravado and jokes but action. He only hoped the rest of the team was moving forward.

* * *

Hank McCoy was a good leader primarily because of his intelligence. In the beginning, he was the top candidate to lead the X-men. It wasn't something they often talked about, but Scott and Hank both knew that the only reason Scott became leader was because he needed the confidence boost. Yet Hank never regretted giving Scott the leadership role. Now was his time to step up though. Logic and compassion were some of Hank's best qualities. He ordered some of the more human looking members of the team to get food and hang out because they needed the morale boost. Hank now moved in the shadows of the streets, with Wolfsbane following him. Rahne altered her wolf form, abandoning all the traits except the fur and claws.

"You should be with them Rahne," Beast said.

"No, to be honest ever since Wild Child got his claws into me I've felt a little different," Rahne hugged her arms as she leant against the wall.

"Different, how Rahne?" Hank asked.

Rahne smiled as she licked her lips. Hank stepped back in shock; Rahne was swaying her hips as she walked towards him. He gripped the girl's shoulders and shook her. The action caused Rahne to widen her eyes in astonishment. Beast understood the difficulty she was having. He could see in her eyes the same struggle he once faced. It was the struggle between the man and the Beast. Though this was a much more fierce struggle because of Rahne's sexual inexperience. Peaking his head out of the alley, Hank looked up and down at the streets. People were walking and taking part in their daily business. Obviously they were uninterested in the recent anti mutant activity. But Beast still had Beak out scouting, just in case their enemies sent someone after them.

While the more animal members of the team hid, the rest of the group boosted morale in their own way. Jubilee was out at the shops with Alison, trying on new outfits. The boys were at a café nearby, ordering the local cuisine.

"How are we going to get to Muir Island?" Sam asked quietly.

"High jacking of course, I thought about spreading the groups out and heading to different airports, one group gets to England while another goes to Scotland, that way if they anticipate us going straight there one group will be using that distraction to make their way to the island," Bobby explained.

"Everything's going to hell isn't it? I hope my brother's okay," Sam sighed.

"The others too, we still haven't heard from them…lets change the subject okay," Bobby sheepishly smiled.

"Really what about?"

"Who do you think the hottest girl at the school is?" Bobby asked.

"Wow that's a tough one," Sam scratched his head, identifying attractive women was an easy job at the mansion.

"Yeah they're all pretty hot, I call Emma Frost, great tits and she's blonde," Bobby said.

Sam blew in disagreement, "Rahne, she's kind and there's her accent," He said.

"What about the new girl, the one with the white streak, she's got a sexy accent too," Bobby added.

"She can kill you with a touch Bobby."

"Not in my dreams she can't!"

Both boys laughed, ignoring the two sighs above them. Jubilee and Alison had been standing in front of them during the whole conversation. Even now they were oblivious to the girls presence. Alison cleared her breath and both boys turned their heads. They sheepishly chuckled before analysing what Jubilee now wore. She was dressed in a new yellow coat, with black jeans and a black blouse. A pair of red sunglasses rested on her head, with hoops on her ears.

"We should probably head back to Hank and the others," Jubilee said.

"Yeah, lets get going," Bobby said.

The four of them left the café and made their way down the streets. Bobby stopped the group as he saw a truck parked at the edge of the road. A police officer also stood looking at the truck, tutting at how it was parked.

"These damn kids think they own the streets cause they're hanging out in some gang, Church of Humanity my ass, half of these boys don't even go to church," The cop explained.

"We're new in town, is the Church a problem here?" Sam asked.

"Only if you're a mutant, occasionally we fish a poor bugger out of the river, but the mutant population is very low in these parts. There was a big mutant gathering in the city near here."

"Really, what happened?" the cop raised his eyebrows at Dazzler's question.

"We're really new here," Bobby chuckled.

The cop nodded his head, putting a ticket on the truck windshield and leaning towards Bobby. He gripped the teen's collar firmly and whispered into his ear:

"We've been getting calls from parents in town calling about their kids in the city next door. Some of these kids are mutants caught up in the chaos caused by Sentinel's."

"SENTINELS…" The cop hushed the boy, motioning to the corner shop; the Church members must be in there.

"America's employing these new models of Sentinels to restore order to their cities, they're gathering up large numbers of mutants. The same things been adopted in Canada and Australia. An APB has been sent to every officer across the state to report mutants to the local government."

"Oh my god," Bobby gasped.

"You four had better get out of here."

"Wait a second you couldn't possibly think we…"

"Mate I'm a ten year vet, I see a small group like you walking and whispering around I know something's up, your particularly nervous about those Church of Humanity bastards. I don't give two shits about the homo-superior debate, what I do care about is the Forty Seven and counting casualties reported from the city," The policeman explained.

A sudden commotion caught the officer's attention. Three thugs threw a man in rags out of the corner shop. The three thugs wore purple and white clothes, signifying their connection to the Church of Humanity. They crowded round the man and started kicking him.

"OI WHAT ARE YOU LOT DOING!" The officer yelled at them.

"Officer we've got a mutant to report, and a shop lifter too," The ringleader said.

Bobby looked to the others and hesitantly shook his head. Right now they couldn't afford to blow their cover, having no idea how the public would react. Jubilee tightened her hands into fists, light sparking around them. Alls she could do was watch, worse than walking away. The officer pushed the boys aside and looked down at the man. He turned him around, revealing a scarred face and body devoid of body fat.

"You idiots," The cop growled. "Hopeless morons, you don't know the difference between mutation and bloody burns!"

"Wait what?" The ringleader stepped back in confusion.

"I was caught in a fire a few years ago, I couldn't afford to get surgery on the face," The man said as he was helped up the floor.

"Jesus, god forgive me I didn't know," The boy said.

"No permanent damage mate, and as for the shop lifting accusation I was just browsing, how about we walk away and leave it all be?"

"That'll be best for everyone, and you boys and I need to have a talk about your parking," The cop grinned.

The burnt man put his hands in his pockets, walking off into the alleyway. Bobby immediately followed, with the team close behind. He put his hand on the burn victim's shoulder, swinging him around.

"Excuse me, sorry to bother you but do I know you from somewhere?" Bobby asked.

The man looked at him for a moment. A few seconds passed before the man realised who Bobby was. He quickly stepped back, shaking his head in denial.

"No mate, you and I don't know each other, cant say its just one of those faces," The man nervously chuckled.

"I said that I recognised you, I never said anything about us actually knowing each other," Bobby's statement caused the young man to bite his lip.

"Look mate I'm not out for trouble," The man stepped back in obvious fear.

"I recognised your voice but it was hard without the insane laughter…your Pyro aren't you?" Bobby asked.

"God damn it Drake since when were you so smart?"

"You are Pyro!"

"Yeah and I'm trying to live some semblance of a normal life so…"

"I don't think that's necessary any more mutie!"

The group turned to the edge of the alleyway and widened their eyes. One of the thugs stood there, reaching into his coat. He pulled out a metallic device, a device that quickly folded out to change into a blaster pistol. Dazzler quickly threw her hand forward, releasing a burst of light that blinded the gunman.

"THIS WAY!" Bobby yelled.

The team broke off into a run, leaving the recovering gunman to alert his friends. Already they were on their phones, spreading the word that mutants were in town. Pyro yelled out a string of profanities as he ran side by side with Iceman.

"What the fucking hell brings you lot to Australia?" Pyro asked.

"We thought of setting up here," Sam said.

"Sam get to Hank tell him about my plan and get to whatever airport he tells you to go to," Bobby explained as he ran ahead of the group.

"Drake what are you doing?" Dazzler asked.

"Something inspiring," Bobby grinned.

He ran down a separate alleyway, throwing off his coat as he reached the streets. Much to his surprise, A Church of Humanity truck was already in pursuit. Bobby fired an ice beam, hitting the front of the truck. He froze not just the bumper but the wheels and side doors too, leaving the passengers trapped and the vehicle stuck to the ground. Then he changed his skin to ice as policemen aimed their guns at him. Church of humanity thugs soon joined them. Bobby braced himself as the men cocked their weapons. Suddenly, Beak swooped in, grabbing one of the thugs and flying him into another. He flew upwards and dived down, dodging bullets and bricks thrown at him. Utilising this distraction, Iceman fired beams that froze the Church members legs, Beak then moved in and punched them across the head.

"GO BARNELL! GET TO THE OTHERS!" Bobby yelled.

"But what about you?" Beak asked.

"I'm going to go help the people that need it most."

Beak flew down the street, while Bobby ran as fast as he could. He smirked as he found what he was looking for. A Church of Humanity thug was just beginning to start the engine on his bike. Bobby jumped forward and kicked the gang member in the chest, knocking him off his bike. Checking the bike's fuel gage, Bobby sighed with relief. There was plenty of petrol to get him to the city. Before he started the engine, he fired a beam, shaping and creating a wall that blocked the way leading to his friends.

'Keep everyone safe Hank, I'm going on ahead to save the lives the government refuses too,' Bobby thought as he drove away.

He didn't look back, knowing without a doubt that Hank would keep the others safe.

* * *

Unlike the others, who faced obstacles and doubts, Rogue and Logan seemed to be travelling well. Rogue rested her head back against the chair, peacefully resting with what little time she had. Logan kept on driving, keeping within speed limits so not to draw attention. He wore a black hooded jacket over his bare chest. Right now he and Rogue didn't have time to stop for clothes. Their plans hadn't changed; Rogue would get on a plane to Scotland while Logan would get to Canada his own way. He growled, impatient at the speed he would be travelling at. Logan understood that he needed to keep Rogue safe, but he also couldn't overcome his need to look his Alpha Flight teammates in the eyes and ask them, why are you letting this happening?

"Mr Logan, can I ask you a question?" Rogue yawned as she woke up, asking the first thing on her mind.

"You just did," Logan said gruffly.

"Very funny, I was just wondering, when I touched you I saw a load of flashes. I absorb whole lifetimes with just a touch; I know everything that ever happened to Cody in his life as well as Stryker. But you, alls I keep seeing is those flashes, I'm having a difficult time understanding you Logan," Rogue explained.

Logan huffed; he figured he'd have to have this conversation at some point. His eyes remained fixed on the road as he told Rogue what little he could remember.

"I've lived a long time kid, hell you could probably say I'm the oldest man alive. It's my healing factor you see, I age very slowly. That means I've lived a long and complicated life. These claws I have, they're mine but the metal was put inside me by a group called Weapon X. They did something to my mind, made me forget a chunk of my life. Ever since I hooked up with Xavier I've been slowly getting bits and pieces of information about my life back. They're only bits and pieces though."

The man reached into his pocket, cursing as he remembered that he left his cigarettes behind. With nothing else to do he carried on his story.

"Jean and Chuck tried to restore the connections between my memories but they couldn't. Only if I revisit certain places or see certain do I start to remember. But my past is still a big mystery, alls I really remember is that I've done some bad things, in fact the more I learn the more I don't want to remember. Faces of people I've killed, people I couldn't save. My father was murdered right in front of me, everything after that was like a blur. I remember lovers, some may have been women I was cheating on or waiting to kill."

Logan looked to Rogue, taking in her expression. She showed no fear despite the revelations about the man she travelled with.

"I had a family once, a son and probably more children that I can't remember," Logan lowered his head slightly and sighed.

"I don't see the problem…that's who you were before right? If that's the case then you shouldn't punish yourself for things that happened years ago," Rogue casually tucked her hands behind her head.

"Darlin if I don't punish myself no one else will, it'll make me just like every other serial killer out there. There's nothing else for me Rogue, this is the only life I can know. I'm the best there is at what I do, and what I do isn't very nice!"

Much to Logan's surprise, Rogue began laughing at his signature quote. Overcoming his initial shock, Logan joined in on the laughter.

* * *

Scott dispensed coats and clothes to the other group members. He put on a grey trench coat and watched as Karl covered his head with a hood. Despite Monet's insistence, no one else changed his or her outfits. Kitty was wearing a red coat that looked to be too big for her, but all in the entire group was as inconspicuous as possible. Kevin Ironside only changed out of his military uniform, adopting black clothing and a jacket.

"Hey Scott come here," David said.

Cyclops walked to David's side, he had reconnected a TV in order to found out what was happening out there. Every show had been cancelled to show the current status on the mutant crisis.

"Oh shit, we're dead," Noah said.

It was official, the X-men were wanted fugitives and all mutants were to be reported to the government. The situation in New York was already getting much worse. Dani Moonstar and Zuzha were in the centre of the crowd, pushing against the people in front of them to get a decent view. The piloted Sentinels were walking forward, backing the mutants towards a hover ship. Dani squeezed between people, making her way to the pavement. She stopped as she saw several mutant response agents kicking a door down. Dani widened her eyes as she heard the commotion inside the house.

"You people cant just barge into our home and declare our children illegal," A man said.

"Step aside old man and just give us the kid."

Dani grit her teeth together as she heard the crash of china and furniture. In the end the response agents walked out of the house, carrying a pink skinned child. The boy's mother rushed out of the house and jumped at the agents.

"GIVE ME BACK MY SON!" She screamed.

One of the agents slapped the woman across the face and pulled the boy off his feet. Dani squeezed her hands into fists as her eyes glowed a purple colour. Suddenly the soldier dropped the boy and stepped back in fear.

"Easy boy, I'm not looking for trouble," The soldier whimpered.

"What the hell is wrong with you Deacon?" One of the agents asked.

Dani smirked and looked into the crowd. She nodded to Zuzha, hoping she would take the signal and run when she had an opening. Dani concentrated with her powers again. At the mansion they had called her Mirage and with good reason. But illusion casting was only a vague term to describe her powers. In actuality she could scan a person's mind and make them relive their deepest fears. Her first victim amongst the MRD was now looking at a snarling rabid guard dog. His comrades however would see much different visions.

"SHIT! SPIDERS!"

"SNAKES!"

"AAAAGH!"

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON DOWN THERE!" The Sentinel pilot yelled over the load speaker.

"I'M ON FIRE! SOMEONE HELP!" A soldier screamed as he rolled across the floor.

"GET THEM AWAY FROM ME!"

The Sentinel pilot looked down at the scene and focused his camera on Dani. He immediately identified her as a mutant and targeted her. The Sentinel raised its hand, its arm cannon glowing. Zuzha and the other mutants in the crowd widened her eyes as Dani braced herself. Cyclops and his group watched the screen intensively, some praying she survived, and others praying that the network didn't cut the connection. Dani immediately ran for the mutant child. If nothing else she could at least attempt to move him. Suddenly, the Sentinel's head exploded, knocking the machine into the ground. The mutants immediately ran through the gap created by the fallen Sentinel.

"What the hell is going on?" Brent Jackson asked.

He was in X-Force's jet, watching the events happening with his elite soldiers. A look of surprise crossed Wraith and Creed's faces as the camera tilted up to the rooftops. At the mall, Scott widened his eyes in shock at whom he saw. Standing on the roof of the building opposite Dani were two men. One had his face revealed, his eyes glowing red as he looked down at the soldiers. He had wild blonde hair and a mouth that had been barely shaved. In his hands were two pitch-black battle-axes, red electricity crackled around the blades. He wore a long sleeved black shirt with armour on his combat fatigues. Black armour was also on his chest, sleeves and boots. His comrade was the one Scott focused on however.

Scott Summers had seen a man resembling this costumed figure before. He had memorised the details of the mask perfectly. This man wore a similar mask, with red lenses. His suit had armoured pads across it and blades pointing out of his gauntlets. A cargo belt was wrapped around his waist and he wore a pair of urban camouflage combat fatigues. Unlike his fellow fighter he carried no weapon, but he did wear padded gloves and still looked ready to fight.

"No, that couldn't be Reilly, Darkholme killed him during Magneto's uprising," Creed said.

"What's going on Scott, who are they?" Laurie asked.

"I recognise him, but the costumes a different colour," Morph said.

Cyclops nodded his head, the man in New York was indeed wearing identical armour to the man who stopped Magneto's great uprising. The only difference was that the armour consisted of multiple shades of grey.

"Sir I've got an ID on one of the guys," One of Jackson's aides said.

Agent Jackson took the file his assistant gave him. He saw a picture of the man armed with the blades. His name was Cade Hunter and his criminal record had him logged as a man who committed assaults on alleged mutant haters. Cyclops turned to his teammates, putting a cap on his head to hide the mask he now wore. Everyone else lifted their bags and waited for Scott's signal.

"It's time to go," He said.

In the city Sentinel's were already trying to contain the mutants. But the two new arrivals had changed the situation. Humans weren't going to sit by as their own were hunted down. These two men weren't mutants; they were humans defending the innocent.

"You ready Aeon?" Cade Hunter asked.

The masked man nodded his head before he jumped into battle.

* * *

She could feel the heat, not only on her face but every other part of her body. Her clothes were gone and she felt weightless, as if her feet weren't touching the ground. Opening her eyes, Jean Grey moaned as she felt the heat around her. But she wasn't in the centre of a fire; she was in a white void of some kind. She hugged her arms as she walked around, trying to find something in the void. Suddenly, she heard a voice that echoed in her head.

"**Jean Grey!"**

The X-woman stopped hugging her arms, showing no fear as a flame appeared before her. She felt a strange sense of familiarity with the flame as it grew brighter and brighter. The heat of her body no longer felt unpleasant, it felt as if she had been liberated. Jean gasped as the flames towered over her. It shaped itself, intensifying yet calming at the same time. The flames formed a pair of wings and the beak of a great bird.

"**Help me Jean Grey, help me to feel life!"**

Next Chapter 21: The measure of a man

* * *

Hope everyone like the chapter, I've introduced unique versions of my favourite OC's Aeon/Sven Reilly and Deathblade/Cade Hunter. Wolverine's past is further explored, as well as hints to characters being introduced. Jean Grey will return as she faces the Phoenix, in fact one of the next chapters I'll post will focus on her and the disappeared/ubducted members of the X-men.

Next time we see what Weapon X is up to with their prisoners while Aeon and Deathblade protect the mutants and Iceman makes his stand, next time will be his moment to shine.


	21. Chapter 21

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

* * *

The Dream We Share

Chapter 21: The measure of a man

Nick fury kept his eyes on the video screen that conveyed the situation in the city. More and more sentinels were being sent in as the MRD lost control. Mutant citizens were running down the street, trying to escape the sentinel onslaught. Standing in the Sentinel's way were two men. Cade Hunter and Sven Reilly, otherwise known as Deathblade and Aeon respectively. Four Sentinels' from the Sentinel squad landed in front of the two men, also blocking the mutants trying to get through. Dani poked her head out of the crowd, catching a glimpse of the two men. Cade raised his blades and spread his legs out. Suddenly, the man dashed forward, swinging his axes. He slid to a halt behind one of the Sentinel's, lowering his blades as the Sentinel began to fall. The Sentinel slid off its legs, damage caused by Cade's perfect cut. Energy gathered around Cade's blades before he swung them again. A series of energy blades flew from the axes, cutting apart the massive Sentinel. Pieces of the machine slammed into the ground, but by some miracle they never hit the pedestrians.

"What are you people waiting for, run now," Cade growled as his eyes glowed red.

"EVERYBODY RUN NOW!" Zuzha Yu yelled.

Sven ran just as the mutants did. He jumped onto the leg of one Sentinel and climbed up the machine. A spider symbol glowed on his chest, indicating that he was mimicking the powers of a spider mutant nearby. Fury had read the young man's file; he could temporarily fuse his soul with that of another human, enabling him to temporarily absorb their powers and skills. Sven then mimicked Zuzha's powers, jumping from the Sentinel's leg to its hand and then onto its shoulder. The gaps of his armour glowed a metallic colour as he accessed the powers of another mutant. His hand took on a metal tone as it shaped itself into a blade. He stabbed the metal blade into the Sentinel's head, dragging it around to cut the head in half.

"Everybody keep going, Zuzha show them the place, only stop for other people," Dani ordered.

Cade brandished his axes and jumped up at another Sentinel. He cut open the machine's cockpit, and then stabbed the pilot in the gut. Pulling his axe out of the machine, Cade flipped back as one of the Sentinel's fired its palm laser. With no more mutants around to fuse with, Sven removed a disc shaped device from his cargo belt. He threw the device at the Sentinel's chest. As soon as the device made contact, an electrical surge passed over the Sentinel before it shut down. Cade landed on the floor and looked up in the sky. He narrowed his eyes at the transport flying away from the district. Jumping into the air, Cade left a trail of black energy as he flew. Sven ran down the street, stopping as he saw some mutants being loaded onto a truck. Without hesitation, he pulled a knife out of his cargo belt and threw it into one of the tires. He then ran forward, sprinting towards the truck. Soldiers got out of the passenger seats, aiming their rifles at the masked man. As soon as they opened fire, Sven ignited an energy shield device on his wrist. The bullets bounced off of the solid round energy shield. Sven dived forward, hitting one of the soldiers with his shield. He deactivated the shield as he punched and kicked each soldier.

"Mutant freak," The driver growled as he got out of the truck.

He pulled his pistol from his holster, aiming it as Sven as he knocked another soldier to the ground. But the driver suddenly clutched his head, screaming as his worst fears appeared before his eyes. Sven looked at the soldier in mild confusion before looking to his right. Dani ran towards the truck, checking the driver for his keys. As soon as she found them, she rushed to the back doors of the truck. She opened the doors, looking at the mutants inside.

"Everyone please get to the nearest Sewer manhole, I know it sounds crazy but believe me the tunnels are the safest place in the city for mutants," Dani explained as she helped each mutant out of the truck.

Meanwhile Zuzha Yu guided the mutant she ran with to a sewage drain. Opening the cover, she urged the mutants to go inside. They climbed into the tunnels, some complaining about the smell. Zuzha jumped down the hole, smiling as she landed.

"Sorry about the smell guys but this is the safest place we can go to right now, follow me guys," Zuzha said.

"Where are we going?" A blue skinned girl asked.

"A place called the Morlock tunnels, don't worry they've got enough room for all of us," Zuzha smiled as she led the group on.

Unbeknownst to the group someone had watched them enter the sewers. Whoever she was, she stood on one of the rooftops, a smile escaping her lips as she reported the mutant's destination. While the mutants ran, Cade flew to recover those already captured. He stabbed his axe into the back door of a transport ship, cutting it open like a can opener. Looking at the group of mutants with a stern expression, casually charged energy into his axes.

"Whoever can fly grab a partner and get out of here," He said sternly.

The crowd of mutants began jumping out of the transport. Some grew wings; others carried people with telekinesis or simply fell to the ground, their invulnerability or altered skin helping them to survive the fall. Cade however flew towards the front of the ship. The pilots widened their eyes as he launched an energy wave, blowing the ship out of the sky. Aeon and Dani looked up at Cade's actions with a mix of shock and disapproval. But they moved on, aiming to save as many more lives as they good. Dani's eyes let out a purple glow as she used her powers on the Sentinel pilots. They screamed inside the cockpits of their machines, clawing at their suits or curling up into balls. Aeon utilised the distraction as he ran to a crowd of mutants. He looked into the crowd, sifting through the powers he could use. Finding decent power sets, the gaps of his armour glowed as he fused his souls with the other mutants.

"Shoot that guy down now," A squad leader said.

MRD soldiers lined up and fired their rifles at the masked man. He clicked his fingers, slowing down time around him. To the normal untrained mind it appeared as if he used super speed, running around the bullets and knocking the soldiers out with flurries of punches. His right hand lit up while his left became surrounded with ice. Thrusting both hands forward, he increased the heat of several guns, forcing the soldiers to drop their weapons. With the ice powers he froze another group of soldier's guns, making them unusable. With their weapons disabled, the soldier's lost control. The crowd of mutants ran into the soldiers, using numbers and power to their advantage. Aeon's elemental powers disappeared as he created several pink crystal pikes. He threw them like shuriken, hitting several mutants that pounced on the soldiers. They disappeared and reappeared around a manhole cover.

"What the hell man, these guys have been sending us to concentration camps," A pink skinned girl said, brandishing the same teleportation spikes Aeon had copied.

Dani quickly ran to the group, stopping in between the crowds of mutants and the downed soldiers.

"We don't have time for revenge, forget these men, they don't understand what it is to be a mutant. Instead of trying to kill them, bringing ourselves down to their level we have to keep our heads down and survive," Dani explained.

Her words seemed to reach some of the mutants as they lowered their aggressive stances. Others such as Blink remained adamant.

"To hell with this," She said as she raised her spikes.

The pink haired girl blinked as she suddenly found herself with the group of mutants around the sewage cover. Back with Dani's group, she and her fellow mutants blinked in confusion before a brown haired boy in a green polo shirt appeared. Aeon recognised him as the one whose powers he had copied, control of time in his immediate area.

"So what are we going to do next?" the boy asked.

"Its simple, we find as many people as we can and save them, anyone who wants to run go ahead. But I know that I cant do this alone," Dani said.

"People across this district are scared, we can hear their thoughts, its not just mutants that are suffering because of the gatherings," Five identical blonde haired girls spoke simultaneously.

A skinny African American teenager shuddered as the five sister's eyes glowed. While Aeon saw that the five sisters shared a hive mind, he saw that the boy, a former cab driver had adaptive evolution powers. His body would change automatically to survive any situation. An African girl beside him had the power to control fire and ice, again a useful talent.

"If we can make a difference by intervening then why not try?" A girl in an Abaya robe asked.

Aeon nodded his head at the girl's observation. This small group was at least willing to save others. He looked up, watching as Cade flew straight towards a Sentinel. His rival crashed into the machine, killing the pilot inside as he blew the Sentinel up. He landed on the ground, smoke rising from his body as he turned to the other Sentinel's marching towards him.

"You go ahead and save lives Sven Reilly, I'll just kill these bastards for their injustice!" Cade declared before flying straight towards the machines.

* * *

His vision was blurred as he awoke from unconsciousness. He could hear people speaking around him.

"Are you all right?"

"Piotr wake up come on."

Piotr Rasputin gasped as he regained consciousness. He looked around, seeing that he was in bound to cuffs built into the walls. His arms and legs were completely trapped by the metallic cuffs. Looking around him again, Piotr saw his fellow prisoners. Julian, Maxwell and the Professor.

"Professor," Piotr gasped.

His teacher had wires stuck onto his head. Charles tried to use his telepathy but the devices on his head were blocking his telepathy. Likewise the same was being done to Julian and Magneto. The door of their cell slid open and Malcolm Colcord walked into the room. Sabretooth and, much to Piotr's shock Lorelei soon followed him. The white haired woman sultry smiled as she cupped Piotr's chin.

"But why?" Piotr could only afford two words.

"Lorelei, Wild Child and even Unus the Untouchable are part of a small group of mutants that work for Weapon X. We call them the X-Force, sanctioned mutants of the US government. For the past year now they've been working with us to secure an incentive for our Sentinel initiative," Colcord explained.

"I don't understand, why support Weapon X?" Wanda asked.

"You fucking race traitors," Maxwell growled.

"Where's Warren?" Charles asked.

"Worthington? He's indisposed, we've got Dr Essex dealing with him right now," Colcord said dismissively.

"You see guys unlike Lorelei and I there are some mutants out there who just don't see the benefit of working with Weapon X. Of course they're also unlucky enough for Essex's mind control drug to work on them," Sabretooth explained.

"But don't worry, those drugs wont work on you guys, like us your minds are far too powerful for that. However we do have other ways of putting you under our control. These are ways we employed to bring men like John Wraith under our thumb," Lorelei rubbed Piotr's chest as she spoke.

"That Magneto clone, the one who called himself Xorn, you created that machine in order to spread hatred for mutants," Charles said.

"Hatred is such a strong word, mutants do represent a genuine threat. True there are people like you and your students but in the end, its better to control a threat than empower it. An idea was bought to our attention by Bastion; he suggested a network of Sentinel's all linked together, relaying information and orders from a single computer that was controlled by a single man, a single country if you would," Colcord explained.

"You get an excuse to expand the Sentinel operation. Then you gain control of the Sentinels and have them bring to you all the mutants throughout the country. With all the mutants in camps and the Sentinel's under your control, Weapon X becomes the dominant power in the world," Magneto glared at the Weapon X director, seeing a man of both Charisma and insanity.

"America Magneto, not Weapon X but America. If a person could gain control of the most powerful weapons in the world whilst at the same time fixing the countries number one problem they might just make him president of the United States!" Colcord grinned.

"Your actions will only result in tragedy, all the blood that has been spilt for your dream is pointless," Charles said.

"No more pointless than the blood that was spilt for yours," Colcord glared.

The man frowned at the mutants before walking towards the exit. Lorelei and Sabretooth stayed, both smiling as the door closed.

"Bad luck Magneto, this probably would have been different if you'd given me more stuff," Sabretooth grinned.

"You're a thug Creed, a psycho who had no place in any order I would have built. I had at least fifty ways of killing you prepared for when I claimed victory," Magneto explained.

"But pretty soon I'll be a psycho thug with adamantium, and then we'll see whose the best."

Victor chuckled as he turned to leave.

"You're an idiot if you think you can beat Mr Logan," Maxwell said.

Sabretooth stopped, turning towards the prisoners with a growl across his face. He took a few steps towards Quill, extending his claws as he stopped inches away from the boy.

"I mean look at you, taking orders from a guy like that Director dude, your like a cat begging for some food, Meow, meow, meow! Wolverine's a wolverine, dogs fucking eat cats for breakfast dude!" Maxwell spat.

Suddenly, Sabretooth slashed Quill across the throat. Blood ran down Maxwell's chest and the prisoner's collectively widened their eyes.

"NO!" Xavier yelled.

Sabretooth laughed, licking the blood off his hands as he walked to the door.

"Wolverine's are a breed of Weasel idiot," He chuckled.

"I hope you do get Adamantium Creed, because it'll make it easier for me to rip your skeleton out of you," Erik growled.

Victor remained silent as he walked out of the door. Lorelei shrugged her shoulders as she walked away. Julian's eyes remained fixed on Maxwell's body while Xavier hung his head in shame. More and more of his children would die, and it was all his fault.

Xavier accepted the fact that he had sent children into battle. It had begun with the first X-men and it would be a trend that would carry on for many generations of the team. All those years ago, Xavier had once thought that his students would pave the way to a world where mutants were adored. Things did start off well, when the five original X-men introduced themselves to the world. Everything had been simple back then.

"Now class, today we are going to learn about the American Revolution, it all began in…"

"Snore," Warren muttered, interrupting Sean's speech.

"Warren, our country's history is important," Scott said.

"These classes have been a little boring, why don't we just visit a museum?" Jean asked.

"You know the agreement, one outdoor trip every two months, you already visited the aerospace museum," Sage explained.

"And might I add that the trip didn't go to waste, Forge and I have been working on a new means of transportation," Hank said.

It was a time when they were younger, ignorant and with only the common problems of all teenagers. Hank hadn't suffered from his physical mutation yet and Warren was still a rich brat. Xavier observed his class with a smile on his face. Despite their hesitation to learn, he still saw great potential in all of them.

"Why cant you be more like Bobby Warren, surprisingly he hasn't opened his mouth all day," Sean said, patting Bobby's shoulder.

The Iceman suddenly fell off his chair, shattering as his form slammed into the ground. Sean stepped back in horror while the other teenagers laughed. Even Sage tried to hide a smile as the ice melted into the floor.

"Don't worry Mr Cassidy that isn't Mr Drake," Sage said.

"Bugger where is the lad? Everybody spread out and find him."

Xavier rolled out of the war room, joining his students as they got into the elevator.

"Say Jean, how's about you and I go to lunch tomorrow, I'll be paying," Warren grinned as he spoke to Jean.

"Actually I'll be joining Xavier tomorrow, we're going to be visiting a scientist on evolution theories, I think his name was Professor Wallace," Jean explained.

"Heinrich Wallace? I've read his papers, but isn't he based in Germany?" Hank asked.

"While you were working on your studies Forge finished that little idea you composed. You can test flight it if you like…" Charles paused as the elevator door opened.

The Institute students and staff instantly dropped their jaws. Charles in particular was stunned by what had been done to the front hall of the mansion. Snow and ice covered every inch of the room. It was as if it was the winter season. Charles stayed at the door while the others waded through the knee inch snow. Ice statues of the team had been made, including one of Sage and Jean in provocative swimwear. There were also five snowmen, complete with scarves and carrot noses.

"Oh my god, look at this mess," Jean said, biting her lip as she tried to hold back a laugh.

"I must admit, Drake's attention to detail is incredible," Sage muttered as she admired her statue.

"Just wait till I get my hands on that boy, he'll be living in detention when I'm through with him," Sean growled.

Hank and Warren both clutched their chests as one of the snowmen began shuffling towards the door. Sean turned to the snowman, gathering air into his lungs.

"BOBBY DRAKE!" He yelled, his sonic scream throwing the snow off of Bobby's body.

Xavier had never laughed that hard in his laugh. As Bobby recalled it was really the only time he heard the man laugh. Throughout his career as an X-man, Bobby admitted that he had always been the class clown. But if one was to simply dismiss him as such then they would be surely mistaken. He was an X-man for a reason. As Bobby looked down at the atrocities being committed in Australia, he knew that he couldn't stand by and simply watch. He threw his coat off as ice began to cover his body. Then he fired several ice beams, freezing MRD trucks. Jumping off the rooftop, Bobby created an ice slide he used to travel down to the city levels. He slid across the floor, jumping to his feet as he looked towards the MRD transport ships.

"HEY FACISTS!" Bobby yelled.

The MRD soldiers turned around, some even ignoring the mutants they were gathering to focus on the X-man. Bobby fired several ice blasts, freezing the soldier's guns. Iceman raised his hands, creating ice pillars that impaled the MRD trucks and knocked other vehicles away. Creating an ice slide, Iceman slid across the street. Bullets pounced off his ice form as he slid to his fellow mutants. He jumped off the slide and landed in front of the mutants.

"Everyone get to a sewage drain, make your way through the sewer system and use it go get out of the city. Anyone who can fly or can teleport get as far away from this region as you can. Your long term goal should be to remain in hiding and stay away from any areas the Sentinel's are covering," Bobby explained.

"Who the hell are you to order us around, it's easy for you to say, we can't fight like you can!" One mutant said.

"I'm not asking you to fight, I'm asking you to run as fast as you can and don't look back. I'll cover your escape, I promise none of you will get hurt."

"Why are you helping us anyway? You aren't even from Australia, why did you leave America?" Another mutant asked.

"You really don't know? Mutants everywhere are under threat. My friends and I came here to escape that, but I know now that we can't escape. I am an X-man, a member of a team dedicated to protecting people, mutant and human alike. Everybody run, survive for as long as you can because I promise you, somehow the X-men will find a way to stop all this!"

"How and more importantly why?"

"Because its what we do, even when the whole is against us we do the right thing always," Bobby smiled. "We make the choices no one else wants to, the right choice, even if it costs us our lives," Bobby explained as he turned to the approaching MRD forces. "RUN NOW!" He yelled.

His hands shined as he fired an ice beam. He dragged the beam across the ground and upwards, slowly forming an ice wall. When the ice wall was high enough, Bobby then slid through one of the alleyways. He altered the ice slide, practically flying through the air as he looked for more mutants. Without jumping off his slide, Bobby fired two ice blasts. The blasts flew into an alleyway, freezing together the arms of two MRD soldiers. This gave the mutants they were gathering a chance to knock them down and run away. Iceman jumped off his slide, using ice beams to slow his fall as he landed between an MRD convoy. He fired two ice beams either side of him, freezing the engines and doors of one truck. His second ice beam hit the back of a mutant convoy. Bullets and stun blasts bounced off of Bobby's skin as he ran to the frozen door. His ice fist expanded as he punched the door, shattering it like glass.

"EVERYBODY OUT NOW! I'LL COVER YOU!" Bobby yelled.

He turned and fired ice beams, freezing soldiers or knocking them down. Mutants ran out of the truck, making their way down the streets as fast as they could.

"Come on fascists, hit me with everything you've got, I'm the coolest X-man of all!" Bobby smiled.

Suddenly a blast flew into Bobby's back. His ice skin cracked as he rolled across the floor. Smacking his head against a fire hydrant, Bobby's vision blurred as he looked up at his attackers. They were two Sentinels' both with their weapons aimed straight at him. Getting up off the floor, Bobby ran a hand across the crack on his shoulder. More ice armour covered his shoulder as he looked at his enemies.

* * *

Several years ago, Bobby Drake was the joker of the class. Sometimes he made people laugh and sometimes he merely offended people. But there were also times when his joking nature would cost the team dearly. It had been one of the X-men's regular fights against the Juggernaut. Marko was rampaging through San Francisco. At the time Bobby didn't think to pay attention to why he was rampaging. He simply joined his fellow X-men to stop him.

"Dazzler, blind Marko, Cannonball try to slow him down, Beak and Iceman take care of the civilians," Cyclops ordered.

He and Dazzler fired energy blasts at the man as he stampeded towards them. Cannonball flew shoulder first into Juggernaut, trying to push him back. But the man merely slapped him aside, sending him flying towards a building. Sam slammed into the building, the explosive effect of his powers broke pieces of rubble off the roof, sending them falling towards several civilians. Iceman however created a shelter of ice that blocked the rubble. He grinned as he looked to Juggernaut, who clutched his eyes as Dazzler shot him. Colossus then ran in, punching him across the head.

"Jean, keep him immobile with your powers," Scott said.

Jean nodded her head as she telekinetically pushed Juggernaut into the ground.

"Hey if you guys need something to hold him I'll take care of it," Bobby said.

"BOBBY WAIT!" Cyclops yelled.

But Cyclops's warning came too late as Bobby covered Juggernaut's body in ice.

"Problem solved," He chuckled.

The Ice around Juggernaut suddenly began to crack and the X-men backed away in shock. Juggernaut roared as he shattered his prison, sending pieces of ice flying across the area. One slammed harmlessly into Colossus's skin while Dazzler ducked to avoid another projectile. Cyclops dived to the left, dodging the shard of ice that flew at him. He quickly fired an optic blast, intercepting an ice shard before it could hit a civilian. Colossus quickly jumped at Juggernaut, grabbing the edges of his helmet. Gathering all his strength, Colossus tore the helmet off of Juggernaut's head.

"NOW JEAN!" Piotr yelled.

Jean put her hands to her head and fired a psionic blast straight into Juggernaut's head. The man yelled in a mix of fury and pain, stumbling across the floor. His eyes then rolled into the back of his head as he crashed into the ground. Iceman got up off the floor, looking to his teammates. They all looked at him with the same look of disapproval. Bobby remembered sitting in Xavier's office, looking down as his teacher lectured him.

"It's a miracle you didn't get anyone killed, Scott relayed a plan and you had to follow that plan, because disobeying orders gets people killed. You know what happens when you freeze people with Cain's strength, I thought you learned that lesson time and time again," Charles explained.

Bobby kept his head down, thinking over what he had done.

"I don't blame people for the mistakes they make Robert, but I do ask that they learn from them, and when the mistakes are truly horrific they must pay for them. As of this moment you're on probation from the team, until we've determined that your ready for duty again!"

That was several weeks before Karl came to the mansion. Bobby had still been on probation when the massacre occurred.

* * *

In the present, Bobby looked at his enemies. The Sentinels were bigger than the Juggernaut, so freezing them completely was out of the question. He charged an ice blast in his right hand and created two ice pillars with his left. Firing the blast, Bobby froze the Sentinel's legs. Then he threw the ice pillars, hitting the Sentinels in the chest. The two gargantuan machines fell backwards, the ice on their legs snapping as they slammed into the ground. Bobby then created an ice slide, rushing past the downed Sentinels. He slid through an alleyway, headfirst into an MRD platoon.

"Shit," He muttered.

A rocket suddenly flew into his ice slide, shattering it and sending him falling to the ground. Bobby felt his shoulder crack as he landed on the ground. He looked at the MRD soldiers gathering around him. There were too many of them to even count. Getting up off the floor, Iceman again strengthened his ice armour. Spikes burst out of his back and arms as he decreased the temperature around him. The soldiers around him began to shiver, while the insides of their guns froze. Iceman thrust his hand forward, freezing the engine of an MRD truck. He began running forward and no soldier dared to approach him. A few of the soldiers got as far as drawing their batons, but promptly fell to the floor as they were struck with Hypothermia. Bobby continued to run down the street, heading towards the outskirts of town. He felt a bullet slam into his ice skin, but like any other bullet it didn't do anything.

"Bullets don't work on him," An MRD sniper radioed his superiors.

"Any demolition teams in that area, converge on the mutant and hit him with rockets," The lieutenant ordered.

"But sir, property damage will be catastrophic and there are civilians in that area," One of the soldiers said.

"The PR team will pin the damage on the mutant, do whatever it takes to bring that mutant down!"

Bobby came to a stop as he saw several MRD soldiers gathering on the rooftops. They passed rocket launchers to one another, aiming them straight for the spot Bobby was standing on. He created an ice wall, hoping to block the explosions. The soldiers fired the rocket launchers, sending multiple missiles flying into the ice wall. Iceman fired an ice blast, hoping to strengthen his shield.

"Send in more Sentinels, I want him brought down," The commander said.

Bobby widened his eyes as a rocket flew past his shield, hitting the wall of a building. He yelled as a Sentinel shattered the ice wall. Two rockets then flew into the floor, launching Bobby into the air. He rolled across the floor, immediately getting up as he prepared for the next attack. A missile flew into his shoulder, sending him stumbling backwards. Then a Sentinel fired a blast from its eyes, hitting Bobby in the chest. He fell to the floor, a crack spreading across his chest.

"Damn it, come on Drake, get up," He growled.

Slamming his fist into the ground, Iceman created several ice pillars.

'That's right, focus on me you ass holes, give other people a chance to escape,' He thought.

Four Sentinels marched towards him, aiming the palms of their hands towards him. Iceman stretched out his arms as he waited for the Sentinels to start firing.

"You machines probably don't understand this, but contrary to what you might believe, next to Jean I'm the most powerful X-man there is," He began as cracks spread across his body.

The MRD soldiers backed away as ice particles began flying across the street.

"Jean's always been special, she's had some weird power that goes beyond her telekinesis. But me, I'm your standard level 5 mutant, or Omega Class if you will. I never really paid much attention to the different types, but what I do know is that Omega Class is the highest level a mutation can reach. You guys might say that omega classes are the most dangerous types of mutant. I disagree, you cant measure a man by the titles you give him, or the state of his genetics. We should be measured by our actions!"

Iceman paused as the cracks spread towards his face. Images flashed before his eyes, not quite his whole life but just enough to make him smile. He saw his normal childhood, ruined by the emergence of his powers. His girlfriend ran away from two bullies that Bobby froze. He saw Charles convincing the authorities to let him take him into custody. Despite his new situation, he still felt happy to be amongst people like him. Scott, Warren and Hank, with Jean joining them soon after, they became the first class of Xavier's school and the first generation of X-men. He remembered the countless adventures they had, the good times and the bad times. Teasing Scott about his crush on Jean, encouraging Hank to accept his blue furred mutation. He wouldn't say he was the most active of the X-men. But when push came to shove he was there when he needed to be.

"Right now I see a group of soldiers gathering people to be sent away, when they haven't even done anything wrong yet. Declaring someone illegal because of his or her genes is bullshit, where does it lead to huh? It leads us, the society we live in to a path that mirrored Germany's in the Thirties. I WONT LET ANYONE BE SENT AWAY!" He yelled.

His ice form shattered as pictured the memory of the First X-men team. That image put a smile on his face before he shattered completely. A white mist passed over the area where the soldiers gathered. They shivered while the Sentinel's remained motionless, as if the insides of the machines were frozen. The engines of the trucks howled as the soldiers tried to move their vehicles.

"Sir, we cant start any of our vehicles, including the vertical take of air craft," One of the soldiers said.

"Why not?" The Commander asked.

"Sir, we didn't believe it for a second either, but the fuel inside the vehicles has completely frozen!"

The commander widened his eyes in astonishment. Meanwhile, miles away from the city, the mutants and the few human family members with them walked as far as they could away from the region. They stopped as a white mist appeared over them.

"**Don't worry, keep walking and you'll find a safe place," **A voice seemed to emanate from the mist as it encouraged the mutants to move on. **"Human or mutant, the X-men will protect you!"**

* * *

John Wraith stood in the observation room next to the holding cells. He saw well over twenty different mutants being held. Sighing as he reached for the bourbon flask in his pocket, Wraith gulped some of the alcohol down. It was all he could do to ease the guilt of what he was doing. Young mutants were being held down while "doctors" injected them with some kind of serum to control them. The door slid open and Maverick walked into the room, holding his mask.

"Its hard to watch isn't it?" Nord asked.

"Its unbearable Maverick, not exactly what I signed up for. Hunting our own kind, there's a special place in hell for that," John explained.

"Maybe, but I've got my orders and I've been following them my whole life."

"Maybe that's why we're all going to hell," John sighed.

"At least we wont be going to the worst corner of it," Maverick said.

Both men looked down to see Sabretooth walking with Jackson and Colcord. Sabretooth looked up at them, grinning as they both glared at him. The three men walked into the labs, where mutants were being experimented on. Colossus was put in a chamber, where lava was dropped on his steel skin. He yelled in agony while the scientists took notes. Julian was strapped onto a table, yelling in pain as surgeons crafted cybernetic hands onto his stumps. Colcord and Jackson both walked into a separate area of the lab, a place reserved for the key aspect of their project. They walked down an observation platform, looking at the recovered circular dome that was Cerebro. Bastion stood at the entrance of the dome, controlling numerous holographic screens.

"Can you give us what you promised?" Colcord asked.

"Yes of course, I'll need the assistance of construction teams, we'll to know down some walls in order to properly install Cerebro," Bastion explained.

"Then you'll be able to alter Cerebro's programming?" Jackson asked.

"Yes, rest assure gentlemen, by the weeks end you'll have your control system, then every mutant across the world will be at your mercy. Now if you excuse me I have work to do," Bastion said as he typed at his holographic pad.

Bastion smirked as the two men exited the room.

'Idiotic humans, you have no idea what kind of future you're helping me to create,' Bastion thought as he continued his work.

* * *

Lorna felt cold, colder than she had ever felt in her life actually. She looked at her surroundings and felt pure fear. Darkness was the only thing she could see, there wasn't even a speck of light in her prison. She knew she was a prisoner because of the chains that bound her. They were metal but she couldn't move them. She tried to move them with her powers, but she couldn't even feel the effects of her powers anymore. A shiver ran down her spine as she saw her captor walking towards her. She was dressed in black clothing that showed off a lot of skin. Lorna glared at the woman as she caressed her cheeks.

"Don't worry Lorna, your safe with your Queen, welcome to the Hellfire Club!"

Next Chapter 22: Defiance and Acceptance

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, just to clarify Iceman isnt dead

Next time we'll focus on Kurt, Jean and Lorna as they face their captors


	22. Chapter 22

Disclaimer: I dont own the X-men

* * *

The Dream we Share

Chapter 22: Defiance and Acceptance

"I hope your doing well Miss Grey, the doctors tell me you've been progressing very well with your treatments, how are you though?"

It was a question she lied to every time.

"I'm fine Doctor, I haven't heard voices in my head at all," She said.

She faked a smile, appearing as normal as she could, considering she was wearing a psych ward uniform. Ever since her best friend was killed from a car collision, Jean Grey had always heard voices. At first her parents thought it was a simple mental problem and sent her away to a mental Asylum.

"The doctors tell me you've been saying that, I however am a little more sceptical," The doctor said.

He clicked his fingers together and a group of orderlies walked into the padded room. They were carrying an odd looking machine to the thirteen year old Jean. She could hear the voices of their minds speaking, not believing her story and willing to prove it through the use of a lie detector. Jean gulped as her heart pounded. The orderlies began connecting her to the machine as the doctor slipped off his coat. He pushed his glasses up his nose and took his machine to the printer.

"Okay, we'll start with a few easy questions just to start off, my shirt is green? True or False?" The Doctor asked.

"False, your shirt is blue," Jean said.

"Good, very good, now another question, the month is September, true or False?"

"True!"

"Very good Jean, now answer this question, can you hear voices in your head?"

Jean remained silent as the doctor and the orderlies stared at her. This wasn't the first time the doctor had done this to her. She endured this treatment because it was what her parents wanted for her. But Jean always felt she was destined for something more. In her mind she deserved better than this. She looked the doctor in the eyes, staring at him for what felt like hours. A crack suddenly ran across the doctor's left lens. He took off his glasses, looking at the broken spot in confusion.

"When you finish work today you'll drive home in your Citroen DS, you'll give your golden retriever a scratch on the head like you always do. Then you'll walk into the kitchen and kiss our wife on the cheek, tell her you love her so that you justify what you do next when your beeper rings. You'll tell your wife that there's an emergency call at the ward and she'll believe you because you're dedicated to your job. But she won't suspect for a minute that you're going to a woman's house across town to fuck her brains out, Isabelle Santiago is her name, she has a husband that works as a stock broker, but your not interested in the money, your having an affair with her because you actually love the Latino woman," Jean explained.

The Doctor was left shell shocked to Jean's speech. Her lie detector results showed that she was telling the truth. The doctor put his glasses on, looking between Jean and the orderlies in terror.

"**That was very rude you know, to read his mind without permission!"**

Jean looked around the room, trying to find the one that spoke to her. Her eyes drifted to the door as it suddenly disappeared. She looked at a bald man sitting on a wheelchair. He looked at her with a look of disapproval, the kind a father would show for his daughter.

**"Hello Jean, my name is Charles Xavier, I've spoken with your parents and offered them an alternative opinion to your condition. They understand now Jean and they're deeply sorry for keeping you here,"** Charles explained telepathically.

Jean felt a smile cross her face as a whole new world opened up to her. It was a world of super heroes, alien's, magic and robots. Her smile faded as she saw Karl as an Omega Sentinel, blasting through innocent mutants. She screamed, clutching her head as a gold bird symbol glowed on her eye. Flames seeped out of her body and she slowly floated off the floor. The memories cycled through her mind, all of the sensations and emotions she had felt. Her happiness as she left the psych ward, nervousness when she first arrived at the institute, the joy of her first kiss, making out with Wolverine on the beaches of Hawaii. But there was no love there as they broke up shortly after. She saw her numerous costumes, her first suit in the first class, her green dress and miniskirt look, the blue and brown armour she once wore, then her current more professional look. Finally she saw the gold symbol that had appeared over her eye, it burst into flames, an inhuman bird like scream echoing from the fire.

"_Help me to live!" _The raptor spoke.

She saw her first kill, frying the mind of a member of the right, then her subsequent lecture from Scott. The feelings rushed over her, boiling her body. She felt a hand touch her breast, squeezing it as she was pulled into a kiss.

"Give in Jean, give in to the passions," A handsome brown haired man said as he unbuttoned his shirt.

"GET AWAY FROM HER MASTERMIND!"

Jean widened her eyes in shock as Cyclops fired his optic blast, blowing a hole through Mastermind's chest. His handsome face disappeared, replaced by the dirty, wrinkled face and unkempt hair of a man that hadn't groomed in years. She saw Scott blush behind his cowl as he stood over her naked form.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"_So many emotions, so many sensations, but there's something missing!"_

She let out a scream as she held the body of a blonde haired girl. Karl floated over them, the palm of his hand glowing as he fired an energy blast. Flames overcame Jean's body as she threw her hand forward, launching the Omega Sentinel into the air. The flames faded as she reappeared in her room. Scott lightly knocked against the door, walking into the room.

"Are you all right Jean?" He asked.

"When I first joined the institute the Professor told me I was an Omega level mutant, imagine that Scott, an Omega level Telekinetic," She sighed as she turned to the window. "I can manipulate every molecule of an object, whether its inorganic or human I can manipulate it, physically as well as mentally I can change the very core of a human being," Tears began to fall down her face as Scott walked closer towards her.

"But no matter how much I develop my powers, I cant bring back the dead," She cried.

Scott gently wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on her shoulders.

"_That's it isn't it? But you haven't realised it yet!"_

"Who are you, please just tell me, why are you putting me through all this?" Jean asked as the memory disappeared.

She and Scott now stood in front of an older man. He wore an X-men uniform with a gold harness; numerous guns were strapped to his body. A blue mask covered his right eye as it glowed a gold colour, the bangs of his white hair hanging over his eyes.

"That's a question I shouldn't answer, you'll see me again though," Cable said before he disappeared.

"Stop it, please just stop and talk to me for a second, TELL ME WHY YOUR DOING THIS!" Jean screamed.

"Because your wrong," A crowd of purifiers chanted as they ran towards her.

"BECAUSE I AM RIGHT!" Magneto yelled as hundreds of metal fragments flew around him.

"STOP IT!"

Jean screamed as the memories faded away, replaced by the white void and the flaming Phoenix that haunted her every dream.

"Why do you keep following me? Haunting me, just stop and tell me what you are and what you want!" Jean ordered the fiery creature.

"_I need you to help me live!"_

* * *

She was a child of two worlds; her parents were not carriers of a latent X-gene. Rather her mother was a baseline human while her father was a mutant. So in a way she was a child of two worlds. She was the daughter of a middle class woman, married only to later have an affair with a strange mutant man. This mutant was Magneto; Lorna Dane was the daughter of Magneto. So in a way Lorna had darkness inside her, darkness one particular woman wanted to manipulate. Selene was the Black Queen of the Hellfire Club, the ruler of the hidden country Nova Roma and a woman of pure evil. She enjoyed manipulating those whose powers or origins made them inclined to evil.

Lorna always knew she was adopted; her adopted parents were the brother and sister in law of her birth mother. All her young life her parents had told her to dye her hair brown in order to hide her physical mutation. They raised her to hide who she truly was from the world. Then when she was old and brave enough to ask, Lorna asked about her real parents. Her adopted father was practically happy to tell her about the supposed confrontation that Magneto had with his brother when the latter discovered the affair. Lorna's mother and husband left on a business trip and the plane crashed miles before it could reach the airport. According to Lorna's adopted father, the police couldn't explain the crash through only stated that the parts of the plane were heavily magnetised.

"Your father killed your mother," That was what he was trying to say.

"Do you know why your father killed your mother Lorna?" Selene asked.

She removed her hand from Lorna's head, having finished accessing her memories.

"Its because he knew she was weak, because he believed that mutants are the rightful inheritors of the Earth. In actuality, we've always been Earth's masters, I'm living proof of that," Selene explained.

Lorna ignored the woman as she walked around her. Selene had since moved her to a room with more light. From what Lorna could see from the room she was in she was obviously in some kind of mansion. A wooden unit was built into the floor. The unit was built in the shape of an X and the chains attached had trapped Lorna's arms and legs in that fashion. Maids had dressed her in a corset similar to the one Selene wore. Her hands and feet however were bare. Lorna could see the fancy lights screwed into the wall and the numerous chests of drawers with vases and pictures resting on them. That was the best description she could get from analysing her surroundings. They had filled her with so much drugs that her vision was blurred, like the morning after a heavy night out.

"I am worshipped as a goddess in my country, its only natural that everyone else that's like me should be given the same treatment. Your father Magneto had the right idea before, but now he has grown old and weak, his ideals have slipped into the weakling Xavier's dream world, this unachievable dream of his! Try to see Lorna that I'm here to help you see the truth, that we are the rightful masters and mistresses of this world, the humans wont give it to us, so we will take it from them!"

'So that's her game,' Lorna thought.

She was here not just as a prisoner, but also as a recruit to whatever plot Selene had cooked up.

* * *

Kurt Wagner believed in God, he believed there was a devil waiting to punish those whom had sinned. This belief was just as certain as his belief that God would reward the faithful and virtuous. He believed that if one did good for their fellow man then they would see heaven. But he also believed that if one took a life and lived there own life dedicated to sin, then they would suffer damnation in hell. Kurt began to question everything he thought about faith as he looked at his surroundings. His faith was particularly shaken by the presence of this Azazel character. Everything he felt about god, life and death and himself was questioned by the words Azazel spoke.

"Son, I am glad you have returned," Azazel said as he approached Kurt.

The blue furred X-men back away slightly as the man walked closer. A look of confusion crossed Azazel's face, seeing the uncertainty in Kurt's eyes.

"Kurt, I am your father, and I have watched you for a long time, you're the key you see, the key to freeing all of us from this prison we are forced to live in everyday," Azazel explained.

He opened his arms, drifting closer towards Kurt. Kurt looked around, gasping as the guards around them removed their hoods. They resembled him in many ways, their eyes lacked pupils, and they had pointed ears and prehensile tails. Some had red or pitch-black skin, but Kurt noticed their sharpened canines. A smile crossed Azazel's face as he wrapped his arms around Kurt.

"Welcome home son," Azazel said softly.

Kurt still had a bewildered look in his eyes as he returned his "fathers" hug.

* * *

They had been moving for hours now, avoiding gas stations and keeping ahead of the authorities. Hiding wasn't easy for the group Karl and Scott led, considering Santo's physical mutation and the general size of the group. Karl adjusted the hood covering his face as he walked beside Scott. They had been walking on the highway for hours, avoiding the roads to heavy population centres. Scott knew of a private airfield a few hundred miles away from Westchester. It was where he went for his flight training, so Scott hoped that the people there would be willing to help.

"Anyone hungry?" Santo asked.

"We've got some fruit and sandwiches," Laurie said, reaching into her bag.

"No, no more snack food, I'm talking about a burger or a super size," Santo groaned.

Mercury shook her head while Virgil put a palm to his head. Karl looked at the group and saw how low morale was. Laurie was falling behind, with Sofia right beside her only to offer encouragement. Noriko was actually sweating; a rarity for her while Monet was fanning herself, much to Jay's annoyance.

"Forget Burger King, how about a rest?" Wither asked.

"We have to keep moving or Weapon X will catch up," Ironside said.

"Easy for you to say, you've got the stamina for this and the Sentinel doesn't get tired," David said.

Karl lowered his head slightly before looking at the path ahead. Alls they could do was keep moving forward.

* * *

Jean looked at the astonishing figure before her. She stepped back with a mix of fear and bewilderment.

"You need me to live, I don't understand, what can I do?" She asked.

"_Live your life, but with me inside you!"_

"But what are you?"

"_I am one of what was once many throughout the universe, I am **the **Phoenix!"_

"Are you saying there was once more of you?"

"_Many more, some of us existed as gods, enjoying the worship of societies, others served as guardians to hundreds of species across the universe, some even created life with their own power…while others destroyed life!"_

Jean lowered her head in shock. Images flashed inside her mind, of these fiery beings being worshipped by thousands. She saw the beings spreading throughout the universe, forging suns from their own bodies and creating entire solar systems. Life spread as the Phoenix's rose from once barren planets. Then she saw destruction, Phoenix's burning planets and even entire worlds. She fell to her knees, overcome by the sheer power of the visions.

"Why me?" She asked.

"_You are a being of great power Jean Grey, and amongst all the humans on this planet, there is no one who has a greater love for her fellow human than you."_

"Your wrong," Jean shook her head, "How can you make that judgement? What about Scott and Xavier, Ororo and so many others that love life? How can you say that I love life more than anyone else does?"

"_Its strange, Scott was the first person you thought of, that's what is missing isn't it?"_

The Phoenix spread its wings, showing Jean the image of Scott hugging her, comforting her and protecting her.

"_There's an emotion that you humans value above all others, it is the branch of all other forms of emotion, and in order to live I need to understand that emotion!"_

"He's always been there for me," Jean whispered.

She hugged her arms, imagining Scott right here with her. Closing her eyes, Jean tried to reach through the void to find Scott. She desperately searched for his mind. When she found him, she widened her eyes. He was desperate, just like the rest of the mutant community. Hundreds of mutants were crying out for help. Even the baseline humans were suffering because of the extreme reaction of the government. The Phoenix lowered its head, sharing Jean's emotion.

"I need to go back, I need to go back now," Jean said.

Then she saw Scott, walking across the highway with other valued students. Looks of horror crossed their faces as they saw their location. Scott grit his teeth together in anger, the flames of the airfield reflected in his eyes.

"Damn you people, HOW MANY LIVES DO YOU HAVE TO RUIN!" Cyclops yelled.

Jean stepped up to the Phoenix, looking at the imposing creature with desperation in her eyes.

"What do I have to do, please tell me what I have to do to go back," She begged for the first time in years.

* * *

Lorna tried to concentrate, determining what was disrupting her powers. Selene could still use her powers and Lorna didn't feel anything around her neck so there was no mutant control collar. But her head hurt so much that she couldn't focus.

"We deserve to dominate every human being, every pathetic creature beneath us. You can be a goddess Lorna, you just need to accept it," Selene said, caressing Lorna's cheek.

Not many of the X-men knew this, but Lorna had accepted she was Magneto's daughter a long time ago. It was a few years ago, when she was just starting out in the X-men. Magneto had been planning to trigger premature evolution in the population of San Francisco. To do this Magneto kidnapped Jean and intended to use her telepathy in conjunction with his magnetism to force humanity to evolve. Seeing Jean connected to the machine Magneto built gave Lorna a new perspective on her father.

"Everyone break through, Dazzler, Beak cover the civilians, Cable and Cannonball take out Juggernaut," Wolverine had taken charge, mainly because Scott was too distracted to lead the team.

Cable's hand glowed a gold colour as he lifted Juggernaut up off the ground. Sam dived headfirst towards Juggernaut, hitting the man in the chest like a bullet. Cannonball flew Juggernaut hundreds of miles away from the battle. Quicksilver led several of the Brotherhood members into battle, trying to prevent Magneto from completing his plan. Cyclops fired a blast, hitting Pietro's kneecaps. Wolverine dived at Sabretooth, viciously slashing him across the chest.

"Polaris, Colossus, take out that machine," Wolverine ordered.

Wanda flew at Lorna and Piotr as they approached. She fired one of her hex bolts, hitting Lorna's barrier.

"Don't you see sister, we have to force humanity to change, this is the only way to stop father from carrying out an all out war," Wanda said.

"No Wanda, there's another way," Lorna growled.

She lifted a sewage drain off the ground and threw it into Wanda's side, throwing the Scarlet Witch back. Colossus ran towards the machine, pulling his fist back. His hand stopped inches from the machine. Piotr was suddenly lifted off the floor, his arm spread out in the form of an X.

"I've told you time and time again, don't get in my way!" Magneto practically snarled.

Colossus suddenly yelled in agony as Magneto bent his arms around like screws.

"FATHER STOP!" Lorna yelled.

"No Lorna, if humanity can't change its course of self destruction, then I'll make it change. You are my daughter, the Brotherhood is your family, you're either with us or against us Lorna, now choose!"

Lorna grit her teeth together as she turned to the machine. She focused with her powers, feeling every piece of metal inside the machine. Then she let out a yell, using all her power to tear the machine apart. She sent pieces of metal flying, knocking her father off his pedestal. He landed on the ground, hitting his head against the pavement. Polaris tore the cuffs off of Jean's hands and bent Colossus's arms back in place. Piotr got up off the floor, changing to his skin form as he approached Magneto.

"Lets see how good you are when you have to fight like a human Magneto," Colossus said.

He swung his fist into Magneto's head, knocking him back. But before Magneto could hit the ground again, he disappeared in a green and silver blur. Lorna had come to terms with the kind of man her father was that day and accepted that he was a father that wasn't worth believing in. Her eyes drifted to Scott, helping Jean out of the machine. She walked over to Colossus, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay Peter?" She asked.

"Thanks to you I am Lorna, that was incredible, I guess its true what they say, children really do surpass their parents!" Colossus smiled.

Scott hugged Jean, rubbing her hair.

"You safe now Jean," He said.

She didn't like being a damsel, but Jean felt safe whenever she was in Scott's arms. Her smile faded as the Phoenix showed her another memory. She was in Scott's arms again, looking down at the body of a man in a black suit and mask. It was in the aftermath of Magneto's great uprising. Most of the Brotherhood had retreated due to the breakdown of their leader. Magneto was kneeling on the floor, his helmet resting beside him. His eyes remained fixed on the dead agent.

"Please forgive me," He whispered.

Scott growled, letting go of Jean and walking over to Magneto. His visor glowed as he looked down at the villain.

"He can't forgive you, HE'S DEAD!" Scott yelled. "There's no one left to forgive you, and no one ever will!"

He raised his hand, touching the button on his visor. Jean threw her arms around Scott, causing him to freeze.

"No more, please Scott no more bloodshed," She said, tears running down her eyes.

He turned around, holding her close as they both cried. Magneto looked down at the agent's body, letting his own tears fall.

"I am sorry Slade Reilly!"

Lorna watched from a distance, lowering her own head as she fought back the urge to cry. The X-men had won but at a heavy price, someone who wasn't even one of them had intervened in the conflict and put a stop to it all. Lorna didn't know who Slade Reilly was, but he must have been a good man to have changed her father like that. Her mind drifted back to the present as she felt Selene pulled her hand away from her face.

"You see Lorna, that's what happens to weak men, they crash and burn," Selene giggled. "I can give you the strength to overcome all obstacles in your way," Selene turned to Lorna, an evil glint glowing in her eyes.

* * *

Kurt walked with Azazel through this "limbo" that he and his people resided in.

"Your story begins with mine I suppose, like you I am a mutant, an off shot of humanity. There was once a name for our kind, but throughout the years our existence has been forgotten, turned into the stuff of fairy tails. Before the angelic mutants banished us we created empires, forged entire societies with our swords. But then the self righteous angels and their religious servants arrived and banished us like Gabriel did the Archangel Michael," Azazel explained.

"This place is the biblical hell?" Kurt asked.

"No, at least not the one humans will go too, men of science would explain that we are one of many places that inspired the belief of hell. But the truth is much grander than I'd dare explain," Azazel sighed.

"So there is a god?"

"A god that abandoned his people when they were living the lives they were freely given!"

Kurt noticed the aggression and bitterness in Azazel's voice. It was at that moment that he knew that they only shared a physical resemblance.

"I have a gift like you Kurt, I can teleport in and out of dimensions, think of a place I would rather be and then…"

Bamf!

Azazel appeared behind Kurt, slapping his back in a friendly gesture.

"So using this gift I travelled to the dimension you came from, and I began to…spread my power," A grin crossed Azazel's face.

"Vhat have you done?" Kurt asked.

"I found women, mated with them, sometimes it was a casual relationship with another mutant or I would have to take them by force. One of my favourites was your mother, your real mother. She was married to a duke, but he was sterile so in her desperation for a child she turned to me, a stranger that offered comfort. Out of all the women I had been with, she was the only one I valued," Azazel lowered his head slightly.

Kurt backed away slightly, turning his head to see several guards approaching.

"When you were born, the villagers chased you and your mother away. I don't know what went through your little mind as a baby, but it must have been more terrifying than this moment is to you now."

Azazel clicked his fingers. Several red skinned women walked up to Kurt, looking at him with lustful expressions.

"Make my boy comfortable girls," Azazel grinned.

The women walked up to Kurt, twirling his tail and rubbing his abs. Kurt respectfully pushed them away and looked to his father.

"Vhat happened next? Vhere is my mother?" Kurt asked.

"She survived only by abandoning you, she threw you off a waterfall. I saved you and put you in the care of Margali Szardos, I told them to call you Kurt Wagner, Wagner was the name of the count your mother was married to," Azazel said.

"I remember, Szardos and her family vere part of a carnival, they conned people, I couldn't live that kind of life so I ran," Kurt said.

"Yes, you manifested your teleportation abilities at such an early age, teleporting away from the care of my servants. You appeared at a monastery in Bavaria and adopted by the monks there, they poisoned with the beliefs of a false good, and that did well when the villagers turned on you didn't it?" Sarcasm dripped off of Azazel's voice.

Kurt brushed past the girls, walking up to Azazel and grabbing his shoulder.

"You vatched me growing up, but you didn't do anything to help," Kurt said.

"I expected you to stick out for yourself, to take a stand and show those lowly humans true demonic power. The kind of power they feared when they crawled around fires. But its okay now, an apocalypse is coming for the Earth, soon everything for humanity will change and the darkness will swallow them. That is where you come in son, in order to return to the world to save it, we need to use your power. Join with me Kurt and we can create a portal that will bring our people back from Limbo. You can be the prince to an empire reborn!" Azazel explained, gripping Kurt's shoulders tightly.

Kurt looked at Azazel and then at the ground. He thought back to that day many years ago, when he was a boy running for his life.

"GET THE DEMON!" They had yelled.

He teleported through the streets of the town, sweat running down his face. The mob ran after him, brandishing pitchfork and torches. It was like a scene from an old horror movie, only Kurt was the victim and the crowd were the monsters. He closed his eyes, trying to focus on a place he would rather be. Suddenly a stick flew into his face, knocking him to the ground. Kurt drifted back to the present as Azazel flicked his head.

"God wasn't there for you then Kurt, you need to forget about all that religion crap, that self righteousness got you killed in the first place," Azazel said.

"Karl…is he okay, vhat about the others, vhat's going on at home?" Kurt asked.

"Gods abandoned your friends Kurt, just like he abandons everyone else. Just like he abandoned you in Bavaria that day!"

Again Kurt drifted back to that day as the crowd gathered around him. They stood ready to finish him, even as he prayed for a miracle. He clutched his prayer beads tightly, praying for forgiveness of his sins and for a miracle to save him from the imminent stabs. But the pitchforks never came; in fact the whole crowd had gone silent. They turned around and began walking back to their homes. Kurt heard a sound behind him and turned to see a man in a wheelchair rolling towards him. A kind smile crossed the man's face as he looked at Kurt.

**"Hello Kurt, my name is Charles Xavier, you don't have to pray for help any more!"**

Most would have shrugged it off as coincidence. But not Kurt, he saw it as the answer to his prayer. If not for the crowd trying to kill him, then Kurt would never have cried out for help and Charles would probably have never approached him in such a manner. Everything happened for a reason so that Kurt could meet Xavier and have his faith renewed. He moved to Xavier's institute, learning English and enjoying the company of people his own age. At the institute he found friends and people that appreciated his religion. He learnt to appreciate other people's differences and respect for human life. Charles Xavier had been there for him in his darkest moments.

"You veren't there vhenever I needed you. God does not magically fix our problems, vhen ve pray for strength he gives us the opportunity to prove our strength as he gives others the opportunity to prove they are heroic by saving others. He will not fix the vorld, rather he has given us the chance to save the vorld everyday. The gift of life is gods contribution, and how ve live that life is vhat determines the kind of vorld ve live in and the kind of people ve are," Kurt explained.

He shoved Azazel back, knocking him to the ground. The guards drew their swords, pointing them at Kurt. They didn't intimidate him as he looked down at Azazel with pity and contempt.

"You could have saved me time and time again, but no, you manipulate, seduce and rape your way out of a place, did you ever think that you weren't here to escape but to change?" Kurt asked.

"I have worked for years son to gather my children to help me escape, fulfil your destiny Kurt!" Azazel growled.

"I choose my destiny, I vill be an X-man, now and until I die, don't bother trying to bring me back again, because my answer vill be no. Your no father to me, Charles Xavier is the only father I've ever needed!"

Kurt closed his eyes, focusing on where he needed to be. Azazel yelled as the young man disappeared in a cloud of purple smoke.

* * *

Jean looked at the Phoenix and gasped as the Phoenix showed her another vision. Scott and his group sat near the airbase, watching the flames burn any planes they could use to the ground. Laurie was crying and Sofia was doing her best to keep her pheromones from affecting the others. Karl looked up at the sky, lowering his head as Cyclops slammed his fists into the ground.

"Its over then," David sighed.

"We got this far," Ironside said.

"But we cant go any further, unless somebody here can carry hundreds of people while flying," Noriko groaned.

"Icarus, M, Wind Dancer, you three take Karl and fly as fast as you can away from the area, we'll try to make it on our own," Scott explained.

"We're not leaving you," Jay said.

Karl kept his eyes on the sky, his hands flexing into fists as he spotted the lights in the air.

"Sentinels incoming," He said.

"Just great," Santo groaned.

"Everyone run as fast as you can, I'll hold them off," Cyclops said.

"No, none of us are leaving, we make a stand here," Sofia growled.

She stood on her feet, throwing her arms forward. The ferocity of the wind increased as Sofia tried to knock the Sentinel's approaching off balance. But they still flew on their flight path. Cyclops fired his optic blasts, hitting the Sentinel's in various places. But his attacks did no significant damage to halt the machine's advances. Karl ran and dived at Laurie, tackling her out of the path of a Sentinel blast. Cyclops fired another blast, hitting a Sentinel in the head. The head exploded while the rest of the Sentinel fell towards Laurie and Karl.

"LAURIE!" Sofia screamed.

The Sentinel crashed, seemingly crushing the two. Cyclops looked at the other Sentinels as they landed. He yelled, firing an optic blast in fury. One of the blasts knocked a Sentinel off its feet, allowing Rockslide to launch a fist that knocked the robot off the ground. Sofia widened her eyes as she heard a familiar sound.

BAMF!

Nightcrawler landed on the floor, holding both Karl and Laurie. The blonde haired girl looked at him in shock, while Kurt patted Karl's shoulder.

"Did you find your humanity?" Kurt asked.

"KURT!" Laurie yelled.

She threw her arms around the young man and tears fell down Karl's eyes. It was enough to answer Kurt's question.

"Now come on, ve need to focus," Kurt said as he teleported Laurie behind Morph.

Jean looked at the scene with a mix of concern and relief. Kurt was alive but the group was far from safe. She widened her eyes as she heard a sudden scream. The Phoenix opened its wings, showing Selene torturing Lorna.

"Give in, give in to the darkness," Selene laughed, holding her hand to Lorna's head.

Darkness seeped out of Selene's body, flowing into Lorna. She could feel the darkness ripping at her soul, reshaping it to suit the twisted image it wanted from her. Lorna fought with everything she had, but also realised that Selene must have deactivated whatever was dampening Lorna's powers in order to use her own abilities. Lorna opened her eyes, leaning into Selene's hand and looking at Selene's other hand. She saw the metallic device the Black Queen held and realised that that was her target. But Lorna knew the dangers of the darkness corrupting her soul. If she focused on the device Selene was holding then there was a chance that the darkness could succeed in twisting her soul.

'It's a chance I have to take,' She thought.

Jean and the Phoenix heard the young woman's thoughts, just as they saw the desperation all the X-men showed.

"_You must realise Jean Grey what we are both missing, realise it and accept it!"_

"And by accepting it, I'll be able to save my friends?" Jean asked.

"_We will both gain from a symbiotic bond, you will have access to my power and I will be able to feel the emotions that so many of my people lacked!"_

"But what do I have to accept?"

Phoenix showed her the image of Scott, fighting with everything he had.

"Scott," Jean whispered. "He's, always been there for me," Her voice trembled in realization.

"_Can you see?"_

"Yes, I see what we both need, now please, help me!"

"_It shall be done!"_

The Phoenix wrapped its wings around Jean, bathing her in warm and gentle flames. Jean moaned, feeling as if she had been wrapped in a blanket, or the arms of a loving parent. The Phoenix symbol glowed around her left eye as she accepted everything she was given.

* * *

Lorna knew she only had one chance and it was a chance she wouldn't waste. She stopped fighting the darkness so she could concentrate on every metal object in the mansion. First she began with the remote in Selene's hand. Gritting her teeth together, Lorna broke the remote apart, shocking Selene enough to get her to stop infecting her. Then Lorna ripped the gas and plumbing pipes out of the walls, throwing them towards Selene. The pipes struck Selene across the head, knocking her back. She broke the chains with her powers and swung her fist round, punching Selene across the face. Wrapping the chains around her hand, Lorna punched the woman again, drawing blood this time. She grabbed the choker across Selene's neck and began punching her repeatedly. A sick smile crossed Lorna's face as she continued to batter the hateful woman.

"If you ever come near the X-men again bitch, I swear I will rip the iron out of your bloodstream," Lorna glared at the woman.

She raised her fist, ready to strike the Queen again. Suddenly a light began glowing in the corner of the room. Lorna let go of Selene and looked into the light.

"Polaris, its time to go, the X-men need us!"

She nodded her head as she walked into the light.

* * *

Cyclops fired his optic blasts, yelling at the Sentinel's flying above his group. Surge and Gambit were launching their own projectile attacks with little effect. Rockslide protected Mercury and Wither, taking blasts to his back.

"Damn it, I'm too tired," Surge said as she fell to the floor.

"Don't give up Cheri, we need to keep going," Gambit charged several cards and threw them at a Sentinel's legs.

The Sentinels gathered around the X-men, surrounding the group on all sides. Each one of the machines raised their hands, their palm blasters glowing.

"I'm sorry Professor, we couldn't make it," Cyclops sighed as he fell to his knees.

The X-men waited for the Sentinels to fire, giving in to their imminent fates. But the flames on the airfield suddenly shaped into a fiery bird. The Phoenix spread its wings out, flying at the Sentinels. Each Sentinel was ripped apart in a surge of green energy and telekinetic flames. Cyclops and the X-men looked at the centre of the Phoenix and collectively gasped. The flames of the Phoenix disappeared, revealing two more of their lost teammates. Polaris floated behind Jean, wearing a new costume Jean created telekinetically. Her new costume consisted of a dark purple suit with thigh high boots connected to her top. The top had a gap that emphasized her cleavage. Her look was completed by the short, batwing styled cape she had strapped to the back and arms of her suit.

"We came back Scott," Jean said as she floated down towards Cyclops.

"Jean," Scott gasped.

She was now dressed in a beautiful green suit with a gold Phoenix symbol below her neck. A gold sash was wrapped around her waist with knee high gold boots and opera style gloves. Her hair seemed to be a brighter shade of red as she floated down to Scott's level.

"Scott, we can't give up hope," Jean whispered.

"I know, what happened Jean?" Scott asked.

"I realised, I finally saw that there's one person whose always been there for me," She said as she ran her hands towards Scott's face.

"Jean…I, I'll always be there for you."

"I love you Scott, I always have!"

The X-men smirked as Jean pulled their leader into a passionate kiss. Cyclops gave his response by returning the kiss in full, wrapping his arms around Jean's waist.

"Well its about damn time," Polaris muttered.

Next Chapter 23: A world on the brink

* * *

Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, I kind of made Azazel a mixture of his comic counterpart and the ruler of Limbo Belasco. I'm sort of planting the seeds for potential future stories, like the X-men vs Azazel and Selene or perhaps even a Prequel showing MAgneto's great uprising.


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